"SHOCKING THING."

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 172, 23 July 1928, Page 5

"SHOCKING THING."

| YOUNG MEN IN CRIME. I BREAKING AND ENTERING. | i SUBSTANTIAL SENTENCES j IMPOSED. ! "It is a shocking state of affairs when we have shops and other premises broken j into by night by a gang of young men." it-aid Mi. -Justice MacOregor in the ! Supreme Court morning, when ■several young men came before him for isentence on charges of breaking and ! entering. Ihe prisoners were sentenced j to reformative detention in every case. Neville Cliliord Midler, aged 21, Edwaid William Keyinei. ;i-ed and i William .Joiiii Kobinson. aged ap- | pcared in the dock together. Moller and I Kcynier had pleaded _uil!y. to two : charges i,f breaking, entering. ;<nd theft j by night, and Robinson to one. Mr. Dickson pleaded that the men were on the 11esliboid oi Inc. and if a ■ ' chance would make good. He submitted • jit was a case where the Court might jgrant probation. 1 Mr. Meredith, tor the Crown, said it . i was a case of deliberate crime. From the j otlicial report Moller appeared to be the j prime mover. His Honor said he considered lie would 'not be doing his duty if he admitted the ■ young men to probation. They had been ; quite aware of what they had been j doing. | Moller was sentenced to three years' J reformat ive detention, and Koyincr and : Robinson each to eighteen months. I Arthur Albert ( lark, aged ~l>. appeared ■for sentence oil four charges of breakMug, entering and theft, three charges lot breaking and entering with intent to , commit a crime, one charge of attempted : breaking and entering, and on a charge jof having house-breaking tools in his possession. He said he had nothing to snv. Mr. Meredith said the prisoner had indulged in a systematic series of burglaries. He had been found with a full equipment of house-breaking tools. The amount stolen was of no great value, but the serious aspect of the ca-e was that there had been practically an epidemic of such offences. Hi- Honor said it was his plain duty j to impose a substantial penalty. As j t lie prisoner was only 2.'i. there \\ a s a chance of his reforming. He would be sentenced to three years' reformative detention on every charge, the terms to be concurrent. •