CHARGED WITH THEFT.

Taranaki Daily News, 18 February 1922, Page 6

CHARGED WITH THEFT.

- A CHRISTMAS INCIDENT. HOTEL LODGER’S COMPLAINT. AN OPUNAKE CASE. A young native, Rangi Elers, was before the Supreme Court at New Plymouth yesterday charged with the theft, of £lO in notes from the room of a lodger at the Opunake Hotel on December 25. Mr. A. A. Bennett appeared for Elers, who pleaded not guilty, and Mr. C. H. Weston conducted the case for the Crown. The following jury was empanelled: Messrs. A. J. Millman, L. S. McKoy. W. H. Pellew, B. M. McGrath, W. Hughes, E. Medway. W. Mills, A. R. Knight, J. C. Morey, E. J. Elliott, H. W. Baxter, J. C. Lobb. Mr. Morey was chosen foreman. The Crown alleged that Rangi took the money out of the trousers pocket of a man called Alexander Dick, who was occupying room 20 of the Opunake Hotel at Christmas. On Christmas Eve Dick had eleven single pound notes that were in a somewhat sodden condition, having got wet in some way. He went to bed, leaving his trousers on. the floor, and the wad was in the pocket. The band was out catoiling night, and at 12.30 a.m. the porter oi the hotel (who had since been drowned) came to Dick’s room in company with accused Elers and someone else, and asked Dick to give something to the band. Dick fook one of the notes out of the wad, and asked the porter to pay part of the pound to the band. He put the rest of the roll back into his pocket. It was therefore suggested that Elers had seen the money. About four o’clock the same morning Dick was wakened up again, and he saw accused in the room. Elers had one hand on the door, and was leaning forward in a sort of crouching attitude. Dick asked Elers what he was doing there, and the native said he was looking for the porter as he wanted to get a bottle of beer. IDENTIFICATION MARKS. On getting up in the morning Dick found that his trousers, instead of being on the floor near the top of the bed, were at the foot of the bed. Suspicion naturally rested on accused. ' The police searched him that day, and they found in his possession a wad of notes which Dick said was his. The notes were still wet, and although they were wet a cheque that was in his pocket was dry. Elers was arrested, and in the lock-up gave the constable two explanations of how he came by the notes. Firstly, he said that he had received a/cheque from the Irrigation Board the previous day, and cashed it at Hughson’s; secondly, he said that when he was passing the Oeo Hotel on December 22, along with some friends in the Maori Entertainers, he went into the hotel and received some wet notes as change. Later he stated he had four notes hidden in the sports ground at Opunake for about a fortnight, and that those four notes were amongst the notes in his pocket.* Nellie Nightingale, licensee of the Opunake Hotel, gave evidence as to Dick making a .complaint to her. On the Sunday morning at 6.30 she noticed Elers sleeping on the couch in the commercial room.

Evidence on these lines was given by Alexander Dick. He said the notes produced were his. Constable Clouston gave particulars of his interview with Dick and later Elers and of the latter’s arrest. Evidence concerning Rangi’s finances was given by two witnesses. F. H. Crawford, taxi driver, said that on the Friday previous Rangi hired a car to go to Kaponga. He stated that he only had £3, which he produced. Witness agreed to accept £2, and to take the balance later. O. J. Northcote, contractor, Opunake, said Rangi came to him on the Saturday morning. Witness had a good idea that be was looking for money. He paid Rangi fifteen shillings. THE DEFENCE. For the defence, Mr. Bennett said it appeared that the case for the prosecution rested almost entirely on Dick’s story. The question of how much money Rangi had two days before had nothing to do with the case, counsel thought. There were witnesses available to say that they had seen Rangi between 12.30 and 2 o’clock on Christmas morning, when they noticed he had several notes in his possession. How did it occur then if Rangi took Dick’s money that he only had £lO in his possession when arrested? When charged Rangi had made no admission of guilt, and there was also the fact that he had slept in the hotel that night, which did not seem to be the act of a man who had taken the money. Evidence was given by Charles Leath am, contractor, Opunake; Clarence Hill, E. .1. Hill, and Harold V. Field. The witnesses had seen Elers with various sums of money during Christmas week, as he had cashed two cheques from the Irrigation Board, and had also received £4 for shearing work. Mr. Bennett, in reviewing the case for the defence, asked the jury if they could reasonably hold that Rangi was the man who stole the money. Counsel- thought there was direct evidence to the contrary. He urged that, even assuming that Dick lost the money the Crown had not proved beyond reasonable that Elers was the man. “In some ways a very interesting case,” said the Crown Prosecutor in again placing the salient points for the prosecution before the jury. He submitted that if the evidence put. before them had altered the case in -any way it had made it stronger for the Crown. The case had established fairly well that the accused was playing “ducks and drakes” with his money at Christmas time. The evidence of identification was, of course, conclusive. His Honor thought that the unusual condition of the notes might be a useful mark of identification to the jury, though Dick’s statement as to how and why they were sodden was extraordinary. The jury retired shortly before one o clock and returned at two-thirty with a verdict of guilty. His Honor deferred sentence until to-day.