SYDNEY ARREST.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 224, 21 September 1929, Page 11

SYDNEY ARREST.

SHOOTING OF CONSTABLE. CLEVER POLICE WORK SPECTACLE CASE AS CLUE. As the result of particularly smart work on the part of the Sydney and Auckland detedtives an arrest was made ■ on Thursday afternoon in Sydney of a man in connection with the robbery at ■ Rozelle last Saturday night, when Constable- Griiiham was shot in the groin. It Will. be remembered that a bandit! held up the proprietor of a store and, '■ stole £20. A revolver duel resulted! when the man -was chased by the -police,; > Constable Grinliam being serioUSl}': i wounded'by a bullet fired by-the fugitive.! ! During the chase the robber dropped a ' . spectacle case containing a pair <of pince-; ■ ' nez glasses. The case and glasses formed! an interesting clue. , The Sydiiey detectives, believing that 1 : such a clue would lead to "the arrest of, a suspect, took the pince-nez to a Sydney optician for examination in the hope: ( that the expert might : be able 4;o 'give a. ; sufficient description. The /glass lenses: { were diagnosed and the dimensions . given, together with ;prescriptions. Thai . spectacle case contained the name of lin. . Auckland optician inside the lid. The/ . ' name was partly nibbed Off .on the veil-: vet lining, but was still faintly visible,' for the reason that the embossing remained on the case itself. Last -Mon- > day moi'riing the dimensions were sent by cable, also the name of the Auckland, . optician, to the Commissioner of Police : at Wellington. All the particulars in. ; | the cable were then sent on to the detec- j ' tive office at Auckland for -inquiry. _ By. ■ Tuesday morning .the Aucklahd optician , : had, from the dimensions and prescriptions sent, derided that the glasses had; been supplied to a man whose name he ; gave to the detectives. It was then dis-j ! covered that tlfis man was an Aus'tra-, lian Criminal who "Was "well -known an} Auckland, having been arrested here m a house in Belgium Street after a desperate struggle with Detective Allen tfiid. , Constable Butler. The "man afterwards: served a sentence tor his crime. A: cable giving the name and Police Gazette photographic particulars -of the man was:' sent to the Sydney police on Wednesday afternoon, and on the following day an arrest was made. As the name of the man arrested has not yet been given, the local police are; •, unable to say whether he is the mail; whose name they ascertained from the: cabled particulars about the ,glassies; When the matter was mentioned -tos . Chief Detective HamiiioM this moriiiftg,; he stated that it Was the cleverest piece' I of "tracing" lie ih'ad ever heard of in;. his whole experience in the foTCe. It was* ■all so quickly done. "The Sydney -de-, tective who thought, of taking the spec- ! tacle case to the Sydney optician and -obtained the prescription of tlie pince-ne? is deserving of praise for his quick work," added Mr. Hammond. It may be added that the manner in which the inquiries were carried out in Auckland by local detectives reflects great credit on tlio men working in Inspector J. "W. Hollis' department.