POLICE NEWS.

Thames Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 10351, 26 April 1911, Page 2

POLICE NEWS.

/ —♦ —- THEFT AT PIAKO.

—♦ — A YOUTH CONVICTED. ■ND ADMITTFD TO PROBATION. The adjourned oa.se in which Eirn.sit B'ai'rnett was cluwgedi with theft t Piako was concluded at the Maeisrate's Court before Magistrate Tkn'ossJ this morning. The charges were as follows: Theft f a gold ring valued at 355, the proicrty cf William Kelly; theft of a, ;<>kl brooch valued at 20s, the pro>erty of Henri Foussard ; theft of a ;'old ring \ialuedl at £J2 and 12s 6d in nohey, the property of T'had'deus VDonaohue. Accused, who pleaded guilty to the h'st two diargies and not guilty to .lie las*,elected to be dealt with sumnarily. William Kelly, an engineer workng a* the Piako., said 1 that on the nwnnig of the SfTi he left the ring stolen, in his coat po.dk.eit and wiien ■tc returned to the camp he heard 50.tn0 of the men saying that some of their property was missing, and on lookingl through his ejects missed the ring. Henri Foussard, who also lost two brooches, identified one produced r.c his and said that a few days previous accused was In his ciamp and saw wherti he (witness 1) placieil the box containing- the larooches. The brooch produced' was the least valuable oi the two stolen. Thadcbus O'Dbaiagiluie stud! tliat Ik lost a gold ring, valued! at £2 and 12s--6d in money at the same time. Accused slept in witness's whare om night aibiout the time that the artic les were taken. Two native children gave eividenos to the effect that they saw the accused go into Fcms&ard's tent anr comio out with a bocs under his arm. Ooixgta'ble Berry said that on Apii 11th he went to MeGregoi-'s cia.mp tc inquire into the theft and! from infoitaation recicdved- taxed adcused- witlthe theft of the Various articles. B«irrett however denied: all knowledge. also thai he w ' if Fousßsird't tent. An hour latei w.tness again taxed him with the theft and he then admitted! taking Kelly's ring, which he said he had 'planted' in the grasß neiar the ten*.. On searching:, witness found this ring. Later accused admitted talking O'D'onaighue's property that a man named John Page got and Foussai-d's Wooch. He then said him to do thet 'job,' after which accuses gave Page a' broodh amd O'D'ona"hue''.si ring. Page was arrested but denied all knowledge. Accused! persisted in hia statement until two da.yf later, when he denied that Page hr..rl anything to do with the affair. Pa,ge wa's then set free-.--Barret* then made a. different statement to the' effect that he had 'planted' Foussard's brooches at the camp, but had not touched (Wonaghue's property. Witness went to the camp and made a. search and found one of thA twodheis, which however proved toi Ibia the leaist vaiualble of the two. This oonciludled the case for the poliae. ITOen asked if he had anything to say, Barrett made a vague statement that two other man were knock ing about the oamp on the day the articles were missed. Hci als;o said that his statement with regard -to Page's complicity in tho affair Was a mistake; amd the Mawi children's statement that he dame out of Foussavd's oamp with a box undler his a I'm wn.« untrue. His Wors.hip said that he thought B'arrett was guilty of all thi-ee chargjes and must be convicted. He did not like to semd him to gaol as lie was so young (in answer to a question B'arrett had told the Magistrate that he was 16 yeiare of age). Barrett Was admitted'to six months' probation, ordered to 1 refund the Value of the missing property (.£3 12s 6d) and ta v»s"* the costs of the proselcMtion (£5 18s).