"Not-guilty" after re-trial

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 2, Issue 33, 5 February 1985, Page 13

"Not-guilty" after re-trial

Colin Barry Phillips, 29, forestry worker of Raetihi who was found guilty last July of stealing a winch, valued at $1,000, the property of Francis Saxton Stuckey, was found not guilty when his case was reheard last week. Counsel, Mr D. G. Harvey, had requested the rehearing in September of last year when he received new information pertinent to the case. Mr Francis Stuckey, who owns property in the Maungatiti Valley near Raetihi, told the court that he had bought the winch 20 years ago for £565, then fitted it to his bulldozer where it had remained until 1 January 1984. As a result of information Mr Stuckey received from a neighbour, William Paul Cornelius, the police were informed that Colin Phillips had been stealing the winch on the day in question. Constable Kevin Entwistle, who was stationed at Raetihi, interviewed Phillips on the 10 January at which time the defendant told him that "Bill Cornelius was trying to frame him to stop hunters getting into the area." He added that he had gone into the valley to hunt for a goat which he wanted to use for dog-meat. At about 11.00am he had spotted Mr Cornelius standing by the side of the road. Phillips was driving a white Suzuki jeep. Meanwhile, Mr Cornelius, who was having lunch with his wife and children on a knoll overlooking a paddock

where the bulldozer was parked, saw a white Suzuki jeep pull up and park in a woolshed. From a distance of 600 yards, he told the court that he was able to identify the driver as Colin Phillips, who he had spotted earlier. Mrs Cornelius, in her evidence, said that she felt she was too far away to be able to identify the person who got out of the jeep Graham Hardwich told the court that he had been working on the white Suzuki jeep, which was owned by his father, prior to Mr Phillips calling in to see him on New Year's Day. When the defendant asked to borrow the vehicle, he was told that the vehicle could not operate on 4 wheel drive as the drive shaft was broken. The court heard further evidence and was shown pictures of the paddock and surrounding area where the bulldozer was parked, stating that parts of the road leading to the woolshed were impassable without a 4 wheel drive vehicle. Judge E. W. Unwin, in his summing up, stated that "All evidence tends to point to the innocence of Mr Phillips." "The question is whether Mr Cornelius made an error of identification." He added that he felt there was some room for the possibility of error. "The winch was taken on this day, in this way, at this time but probably by someone other than Mr Phillips." He then dismissed the information.