OHAKUNE DISTRICT COURT

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 4, Issue 27, 2 December 1986, Page 11

OHAKUNE DISTRICT COURT

The following defended cases were heard by Judge L. Laing of Wellington in the Ohakune District Court last month. Sergeant Brett Jones of Taihape appeared for the police. ★ ★ ★ Charmaine Larrissa Green. 24. solo parent of Raetihi, appeared for a defended hearing on a charge of stealing or receiving a cassette stereo recorder valued at $899, to which she had pleaded not guilty at the September sitting of the Ohakune District Court. She was also appearingon a charge of possession of cannabis to which she had pleaded guilty at the earlier hearing. Court heard evidence from two prosecution witnesses: the Rotorua owner of the stereo which had been stolen and a police constable who had found the stereo in the house of the defendant. Both witnesses identified the stereo which was produced in Court as an exhibit. Defendant took the witness stand and said that a friend from Auckland whom she knew only by the name of 'Willie' had given her the stereo when he had been unable to repay the cash she had lent him on the strength of a $380 cheque he'd earlier given her. She explained to the Court that she had been unable to cash the cheque locally so, when next * Willie' visited Raetihi, he have her $70 in cash as well as the stereo in lieu of the remaining $310 "which he had already spent." Defendant said she did not think the stereo had been stolen. However, in his summing up, Judge Laing said that defendant must have suspected that, when given a stereo which was obviously worth "significantly more than $3 1 0" by a man she only knew as "Willie", the

stereo was either stolen or dishonestly obtained. "The public have been warned about accepting bargains by comparative strangers and this appeared to be a case of not wishing to know what was suspected," he said. No evidence had been produced that defendant had been involved with the actual theft of the stereo from Rotorua so that charge was dismissed. But on the charge of receiving the stereo she was convicted and fined $250. court costs $38.50 and an order was made for the return of the property. On the guilty plea to the_ charge of possessing cannabis leaf which had been found in the wardrobe and dresser drawer of her home in Raetihi, Court heard in mitigation that defendant was not a user herself but lived a busy social life and had allowed another person to use her house. On the charge of possession she was convicted and fined $250, court costs $38.50. Counsel: D.G. Harvey. ★ ★ ★ Selina Josephine Hemara, 19, unemployed process worker of New Plymouth, Charmaine Anita Moke, 29, unemployed cleaner of New Plymouth and Darnell Taupaka Tamaiparea. 23, beneficiary of New Plymouth, were each to have appeared for a defended hearing on a charge of unlawfully getting into a motor vehicle on 6 July to which all three had earlier pleaded not guilty. However at last month's sitting Selina Josephine Hemara and Darnell Taupaka Tamaiparea changed their pleas to guilty while Charmaine Anita Moke maintained her not-guilty plea. In the defended case Court heard how Moke had travelled from New Plymouth to Raetihi with five others in a green Valiant

motorvehicle after spending the previous evening drinking in Wanganui. At about 7am in the morning of 6 July in Raetihi she had been woken by her companions in the Valiant and told to get into a Ford Falcon station wagon which was parked nearby as their own vehicle had broken down. Defendant claimed that she did not think that the Falcon was 'hot' until one of her companions got into the d rivers seat and "took off" by which time it was travelling too fast for her to get out. The Falcon was stopped by police on the Desert Road at Rangipo and all six occupants were arrested. In his summing up Judge Laing said that the charge of 'unlawfully, without colour of right getting into a motor vehicle' meant that if the defendant had any honest belief that she was entitled to get into that vehicle, the charge could not be sustained. However defendant had found herself at 7 o'clock in the morning being asked to get out of one car and into another in Raetihi "where there would not be too many car sales-yards open at that time of the morning." "That was stretching credibility to the limit and it was insufficient excuse to say that she was half asleep and didn't know what was going on about her." Defendant was convicted and sentenced to three month's periodic detention and disqualified from driving for six months. The defendant Tamaiparea was convicted and fined $200, court costs $38.50 and disqualified from drivingfor six months. The defendant Hemara was convicted and fined $300, court costs $38.50 and disqualified from driving for six months. Counsel: P. Brown.