ALLEGED THEFT OF BENZINE.

Taranaki Daily News, 25 September 1922, Page 4

ALLEGED THEFT OF BENZINE.

ELECTRIC BELLS AND VIGILS. A MANAIA CASE. A story containing all the elements of the “penny dreadful” detective romance, of cotton strings, electric bells, secret brands, and midnight vigils was unfolded at the Magistrate’s Court at Hawera on Friday, when Andrew Leslie Young, baker, of Manaia, was called on to answer two charges,, one of the theft of a case of benzine, valued at 255, the property of Messrs. Newton King, Ltd., and the other of having burglariously entered that firm’s premises at Manaia. Mr; J. 8. Barton was on the Bench, Senior-Sergeant Henry conducted the prosecution, while Mr. P. O’Dea appeared for the accused. The charges were taken separately, accused pleading not guilty to both. The principal evidence in this charge was given by Thomas Hotter, manager for Newton King, Ltd., at Manaia. The repeated passage of benzine from out of the store during the past twelve months by other than the ordinary channels ■caused him some concern, and when he received a consignment of 28 eases of Plume motor spirit on September 1 he determined to add to the already taken PHpeaution of double locking the door, By branding each case, keeping a tally of his sales, tieing cotton across the door, fitting an electric alarm bell, and keeping a vigil. He sat up till 4 o’clock on the morning of Sunday, the 6th, but the night was as tranquil as the previous one, and his cotton remained unbroken, but Monday came, the cotton was gone, and so were two cases of benzine. With Constable Scannell he made a thorough search of the building, but could discover nothing. THE CASE FOUND. The witness then went on to relate a visit made to Young’s place, where, armed with a search warrant, the constable made an investigation of the premises, discovering one of the branded cases in a motor shed. Questioned on the subject, the accused had stated that David Reardon, motor lorry driver lor the Kaupokonui Dairy Company, had given him that case with some others, but Reardon, denied this then, as he did when giving evidence later on, adding that his company had not used Plume spirit for the past twelve months. Hotter, continuing, said he had particulars of his sales of that particular consignment, but in reply to Mr. O’Dea said that some of the sales were for cash, and of these he had no record. After Reardon had given his evidence, Constable Scannell entered the box and corroborated the story of the search, and the discovery of the branded box. When Young was searched he discovered a bunch of keys, which accused said were for his house, but the constable said that he had tried five shops in the town from which articles had been reported as missing, and had found that a key in the bunch- would open the doors. Replying to Mr. O’Dea, the witness said he had not warned the aceusea about making any statement which might be used against him. ACCUSED’S STORY. The accused entered the box, and the burden of his evidence was to the effect that he had picked up the particular case forming the subject of the charge, but, owing to being in an agitated state of mind at the time because he was under arrest on another charge, he had not told that to the police. He gave evidence concerning the extent to which he used his car and the amount of petrol he used, while he denied having told the police that he had got the branded case from Reardon. The constable had misrepresented his story., and Hotter’s statement on that point was untrue. Of the keys, he selected five which belonged to his house; the others were “strays.” Answering Mr. O’Dea, Young also said that his motor shed had been broken into several times, but,, addressing the court, he thought it useless to report the matter as they had not been or service to him before in other matters which he had brought to their notice. The magistrate reserved his decision till December 7, when accused will have been tried by jury on the following charge which, he said, was indissolubly mixed up with the facts of tjie first charge. THE MYSTERY.

Young was then arrainged on the second charge, the manager, Thomas Hotter, again being the principal witness. He first told of the general outlay of the buildings and then described the benzine store. It had two windows which were nailed up, and was entered through the one doorway, over which there was a porch. Aceas was obtained from a right-of-way, and the door could not be seen from the street, which was about 12 or 14 feet distant. The door was secured by two locks, two keys being necessary to gain admittance. Repeatedly he had missed benzine in small quantities, but put in down to a mistake in tallies or failures to book it up. but. when on one occasion he knew for certain that three cases had been m the store and that only two were there when he went back again he notified the police. A search revealed nothing wrong with the windows or with the door, and no marks could be found to show where an entrance had been effected. A trap, a deep trap, was then set. Hotter related again how he had branded all the cases and of other precautions he had taken. He fitted an electric bell which would give warning in the mam office if anyone opened the door of the benzine she’d. He was suspicious of the identity of the person makin? free with the benzine, and to that end watched only on Saturday and Sunday nights, trusting to the cotton to advise him next morning if the store had been entered any other night. Saturday and Sunday, September !», and 10, passed quietly, and on the following Saturday night he came back to the warehouse about 9 o’clock. The benzine shed door was secure, so leaving the back door open for Constable Scannell. who was to come in, he connected up the electric bell and lay down on a bunk he had prepared. THE ALARM. All was etill till 10 o’clock, when jthe bell proclaimed an intruder. Dashing to the benzine shed he found the door pushed it to, turned the two the locks, and rang up the police. While waiting he heard alarms and excunnoris from inside the shed, and noticed a light, and then someone hammering at the locks. But the witness was ready. “If you come out I’ll shoot!” he cried, void then a plaintive orv came from in*

side, “Open the door and let me out, Tom! ” In reply to his injunction to remain where he was, the man inside carried out his intention of “D soon getting out of here” by forcing the windows and jumping out. It was Young. He calmly pulled down the window again and walked over to the witness, stating that he had noticed the door open as he passed, had walked in, and someone had pushed the door to. The constable then arrived and arrested him. An examination of the shed showed that a case had been tampered with. The keys witness found in the door were not his keys, which were hanging in the office. Constable Scannell corroborated the evidence from the time Young came through the window, and added that a search had revealed an electric torch on accused. Accused was remanded to the Supreme Court for trial, bail being allowed in two sureties of £lOO and himself of £2OO.