THEFT CHARGES

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 68, Issue 135, 19 March 1948, Page 4

THEFT CHARGES

Two Men Before Court BOTH COMMITTED FOR TRIAL Hughie James Trask, aged 44, pensioner, of Palmerston North, and Thomas Charles Edward King, aged 43, pensioner, of Wellington, were committed to the Supreme Court for trial by the Magistrate, Mr H. P. Lawry, S.M., after the hearing of a theft charge in the Magistrate’s Court in Ashburton yesterday.

Accused were charged with stealing at, Ashburton on February 24, a wallet containing £24 in money, papers and a cheque for £22 3s, of a total valueof £46 3s, the property of Frederick Robertson Perkins; a. wallet containing £l4 10s in money, a cheque for £l, papers and petrol coupons of a total value of. £22 10s, the property of Leslie Wilson; a wallet containing papers and a cheque book of a total value of 10s, the property of Herbert Money; a wallet containing £1 in money and papers, etc., of a total value of £2, the property of Brian Sylvester Quaid; and a wallet containing £lO in money and papers of a total value of £ll, the property of Laurence Charles Rooke.

Detective-Sergeant A. A. Herron appeared for the polce, and Mr D. W. Russell for the accused.

Frederick Hugh Robertson Perkins, engineer, 38 West Street, said that on the morning of February 24 he was doing a welding job in his premises. He was wearing goggles. He heard voices in his shop, but continued with hisjwork until the voices came nearer, when he looked up and raised his goggles. The accused King asked him if he' could repair a damaged mudguard on hie car. Witness answered that he could and took King down the shop and showed him a vehicle, the mudguard of which he had been repairing. King followed and Trask remained in the centre of the shop) about six to eight feet from where witness’s coat, was hanging. He had shown King the mudguard on the truck and then the two rejoined Trask. King said he would bring his car in the same afternoon, but Trask had mentioned. something about a lady he wanted to see that night. The accused then left the premises.

Found Wallet Missing

Witness said that this incident had occurred a few minutes before midday. At 12 o’clock he had. put on his coat, jumped on his bicycle and gone down the* "street. He had felt in his epat pocket, and, finding that the wallet ’ was missing, had gone back and had a good search round the bench where his coat had been hanging. His wallet had been, in his coat, with contents intact at 10.30 a.m. There had been only four men in the shop that day from 10.30 a.m. to mid-day, including the two accused. The other, two men were in; the shop separately and had not been out of his sight.' He was suspicious of the accused and went up the street to look,for them. He saw them in Cartwright’s hairdressing shop. He rang the police from the Railway Garage. The witness continued that he went into the hairdresser’s shop and bought a- packet of cigarettes. King had seen him, and appeared to recognise him. King was sitting on a form and moved out of sight. Witness was joined by Constable Kilpatrick, who had looked inside the shop, and recognised only one person in it, the others being strangers. Together they had waited outside the shop, when the constable accosted the accused.' Constable. Kilpatrick called him over and both accused recognised him and admitted that Uiey had been in his shop. Witness , did not accompany accused when they had gone to the police station with the constable. His wallet was a light brown one and well soiled.

-To Mr Russell witness stated that his shop was 60 feet long, and approximately 20 feet wide. There had been two trucks and a car in it on that day. He had been working on a truck at the front of the shop.

Second Wallet Missing

Leslie Wilson, builder and cabinet maker, with business premises at the rear of Moore’s drapery shop, said that he was in his office at 11.30 a.m. on February 24. He noticed the accused in conversation with his brother in the shop. Hfe opened the door at a sign from his brother, and the accused came into his office. The accused King said that he wanted a box ottomair. Witness asked him for details and King sketched a plan of it on his table. The witness asked for more details, and King said he would bring his wife in at 1 p.m. While he was drawing King was standing alongside him, and Trask behind him. His coat was hanging on the wall alongside the accused Trask. The two men. left the premises. Witness went home at noon, and shortly after missed his wallet. He had last seen the wallet at 10 a.m. the same morning when he had paid an account, and at that time its contents were intact.. It was a brown leather wallet.. The money it contained was £5 in single and 10-3- notes, a £lO note, and a cheque for £4O. No other persons had been in his office between 10 a.m. and the time he talked to the accused, according to liis knowledge, said witness. The following day he received a message from Mr Holmes, manager of Ford Motors, saying that his wallet had been found in the conveniences there. He had received the wallet and found the £lO note in an inner compartment. He could not say whether either of the accused wao wearing an overcoat when they visited his office. To Mr Russell witness stated that lie had been able to identify King at. the police station. He was not sure of Trask. Roth were strangers to Kirn, jle was not. sure of the -exact, number of notes making up the £5. George Wilson, brother* of the pveviout wit news, and employed part-t ime by him, gave corroborative evidence of the accused’s visit to bis brother’s premises. He stated that Trask had left the office in front of King. He appeared to lie in a hurry. Witness had identified both accused at the police station that night. Albert Holmes, manager of Ford Motors, Ashburton, said that the accused Track had asked permission to use the conveniences in the garage at 2.30 p.m. on February 24. He gave Trask permission and saw him enter and leave. He wore a grey tweed overcoat. He was accompanied by King, who stood in the doorway of the garage. A few minutes after nine the

following morning an employee, Joseph Betts, had handed him a wallet that he had found in the conveniences. It contained papers with the name L. Wil son in them. He had communicated with Leslie Wilson and given him the wallet. He had been able to identify both the accused at the police elation the following day. Joseph Betts, mechanic, employed by Ford Motors, Ashburton, gave evidence of finding the wallet.

Visit to Bicycle Shop

Herbert Everard Money, cycle mechanic, said lie worked with his father in a bicycle shop in Victoria Street. On February 24 at 11 a.m. the two accused entered his father’s shop while lie was in charge. King asked to see a juvenile bicycle. He wanted to know if it had the same size tyres- as one ho wished to repair. King "walked through into the workshop and witness followed. Trask remained in the shop. The office was situated in the shop. There was an open window giving access from the e-hop into the office. Trask was standing six to eight feet from the window, and "witness could not see Trask while he was in the workshdp. His father had put some papers in his .wallet and placed it under a pad on his desk before leaving the shop at about 10 a.m. The wallet would he about two feet inside the open windowWitness returned to the shop with King and both accused left the shop.

Herbert Money, cycle dealer, gave evidence of leaving his wallet on the desk in his shop at Victoria Street on February 24. The wallet was placed there, out of' sight of the general public, at approximately 10 o’clock in the morning. He had missed the wal-, let about 5 p.m. the same day and had notified the police. He had since recovered his wallet, and all the contents, which had been thrown into the Salvation Army yard at the rear of the shop. Laurence Chai’les Rooke, boot repairer, with business premises in Burnett Street, said both accused entered his shop on February 24 at 2.30 p.m. King said he wished to have repairs done to his shoe, while he waited. While witness was putting a small patch on King’s shoe, King was -standing next to him and talking quite a bit. Witness had his back to the door where his coat was hanging. Trask was standing next to the coat. The repairing took about seven minutes. Trask mentioned about getting a cup of tea and went outside. He returned shortly, and said he had it fixed up. King told him not to wait, and he went out-s-ide .again. King left the shop soon after.

Witness , continued working for 20 minutes, then went to get his wallet to put some money in it. He discovered it was missing. The last time that he could, definitely say that he saw the wallet was 10.30 a.m., but he felt fairly certain that he had used it after that. He did not think that anybody had entered his workshop between 10.30 a.m. and when the accused entered. He had made a complaint to the police, and had identified the accused at the police station. He had not recovered his wallet or his money.

To Mr Russell witness stated that he lived at Tinwald. He took his lunch to work on February 24.

Brian Sylvester Quaid, shop assistant, employed at Buxton and Thomas’s grocery store, East Street, Ashburton, said that at 2 p.m. on February 24, he had returned to work and hung his coat on a rail in the office in the storeroom of the shop. The coat was hanging in a position so that any person walking from the shop to the office would pass it. He had not missed his wallet until 40 a.m. the next day, and had reported the loss to the police. On February 24, witness remembered two men coming into the shop, through the storeroom, between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. He said that as far as he could remember the accused were the men. They had come out of the storeroom with Mr Wylie, the manager of the shop. On that day, and up to 10 a.m. the following day no strangers, oilier than the accused, had entered the storeroom, as far as he know. It was definitely not usual for persons to enter the shop that way. John Blakeley Wylie, manager of Buxton and Thomas grocery, store, East Street, said that he uemembered the two accused entering the storeroom from the rear of the premises on February 24. He asked then what they wanted. King had replied that he wanted a packing case. Witness replied that there were none for sale. King hjjd then asked him for a packet of cigarettes. Witness had led the' way into the store. The accused must have passed directly by Quaid’s coat hanging on the rail. No strangers had entered the storeroom oh February 24 and up to 10 o’clock the following morning. It was definitely unusual for anyone to enter- the shop from the storeroom. Prior to the accused’s entry in this way, he could not recall anyone not on his staff doing so.

police Evidence

Constable W. F. S. Kilpatrick gave evidence of matters leading to his asking both accused to visit the police station in the early afternoon of February 24. He took Trask aside and asked him to make a statement of life movements during the day, in order to clear up the matter of Perkins’s missing wallet. Trask had given his name as Dixon. He declined to give his address, because he said that lie was, living with a married woman. He did not give a statement. King gave the name of Len Wilson and said that he could he found at 36 Chester Street.

The accused turned their pockets out and Trask had a driver’s licence with a Palmerston North address on it. Hotlv had sums of money, one approximately £26 and the other approximately £27. King had the butt of a ferry steamer ticket with the name L. Wilson on it. Both denied knowledge of the theft of Perkins’s wallet. They were allowed to leave the station.

Witness stated that at 3.50 p.m. cm the same day, following inquiries made mostly south of the river, he went with Inspector Dixon to Hinds and found both the accused on board the slow train to Timaru. He returned with both accused to the police station. On reaching the police station King had asked for a telephone book, continued ihe witness and Trask had asked him what he wanted it for, King replying that, ho wanted a mouth. Mr Russell (to witness): “A what?" Witness: “A mouth.” Mr Russell: “What is that?” Witness: “I understood if to mean a lawyer.” ( Laughter).

Waiting for Third Man Witness continued that King had said that he and Trask were waiting for a third man, Ray Dixon, to go to Dunedin. He was from Christchurch, said, King, and he described his car. The accused had said when they were at the police station the first time

that they were waiting for a third man to go to Dunedin. They were to meet him at the Ashburton Post Office. Accused had stated that they were going to Dunedin to back a horse called Spare Part. Witness had made a quick search of the town but had not found any car answering to King’s description. When Trask was arrested at Hinds ho was wearing a grey tweed coat. Neither of the accused was wearing an overcoat the first time they were at the police station. Mr Russell questioned witness regarding the money that he had found on the accused the first time they were at the police station. Witness said (hat he counted the money. It was approximately £26 on one of the men, and £27 oil the other. He had not taken the number of the notes, and could not say definitely their denomination.

Witness said that money was taken from the accused ou their subsequent arrest. It amounted to £26 11s 4d found on King and £27 5s 6d on Trask. The witness produced two envelopes containing the money and handed them over to the safe keeping of the court.

Constable R. J. McElhinnev gave corroborative evidence concerning what occurred when the accused were at. the police station. Detective R. S. Stuart, Christchurch slated that on March 16, lie had tried to locate 30 Chester Street in Christchurch. There was no such number in Chester Street. He had inquired at the motor registration office in Christchurch and there was no registration of any motor vehicle under the name of Ray Dixon.

This concluded tjie evidence for the police. Both the accused pleaded not guilty and were committed, to the Supreme Court for trial at the next session in Christchurch. Bail was allowed in each case in accused’s own recognisance of £IOO and a surety of £IOO, the accused to report to the police daily.