CONVERTED TWO CARS.

Auckland Star, Issue 17, 21 January 1932, Page 3

CONVERTED TWO CARS.

MEN SENT TO PRISON. TRAIL OF VALUELESS CHEQUES. TENNIS ASSOCIATION'S PAPERS. An ex-jockey, Jack Gould Armstrong, aged 33, and Thomas Joseph Arthur Crawford, 34, a polisher, at the Police Court to-day, paid dearly for a motor tour which they recently undertook to the Hauraki Plains district. Crawford and Armstrong were each charged with the unlawful conversion of a car valued at £365, belonging to Basil Hercus, on January 6, and another car, valued at £150, the property of Edward Peters, on December 31. Each was further charged with the theft of a tennis bag and contents, valued at £6, the property of Robert Boyd Hardy. Crawford, alone, was charged with obtaining repairs and board and lodging to the value of £3 9/, and £20 3/2 in cash, by means of valueless cheques, with driving without a license and failing to stop after an accident. Accused denied the charge of stealing the tennis bag, but admitted all the other charges. Detained at Drury. Mr. Hardy said be left his car in Wyndham Street at 11.20 p.m. oil December 29. While he was away his tennis bag was stolen. It contained various articles, including the minutes of the Tennis Association. As a result of the theft the association was greatly inconvenienced during the tennis tournament. Detective Mills said Crawford and Armstrong were detained in a motor car at Drury on January 10, and afterwards were arrested. Mr. Hardy's tennis bag was found strapped to the rear carrier of a motor car in which the accused were driving. This contained several articles which Mr. Hardy identified as his property. One of the accused, when being taken to Auckland, threw, out of the car a cheque book, which was recovered by a constable following behind. Crawford admitted that he had been issuing valueless cheques. Both accused said they had found Mr. Hardy's tennis bag in Myers Park. "Two Good Things." In connection with the other charges to which accused had pleaded guilty, Detective Sergeant Kelly said Crawford and Armstrong had been drinking about the city on December 31. From Victoria Street they look the motor car belonging to Mr. Peters. Crawford drove it about 80 miles that night, and on New Year's Day the car was found abandoned, with the clutch damaged. On Christmas Day a man named Henry Godfrey Jull was in Queen Street when lie met tTie accused, Armstrong. Armstrong introduced Crawford to Mr. Jull as "Mr. Alnswortli." They both suggested to Jull that they had a couple of "good things" for the races, and suggested that lie should give them some money to put on two horses, Jaloux and Arisus. .lull handed over 15/. On Januarv 2 both accused called on Jull at Papatoetoe, "Ainsworth" showing Jull a cheque for £30 12/, £20 of which he said was for Jull. Jull said ho had no change, and Crawford then wrote out a cheque for £20 and asked him to cash it. On cashing it, Jull was given £10. Crawford took £0 of this and said he would return the money the same night. The chequc was later presented to the bank and was found worthless, Crawford having no account there. "That was the last Jull saw of cither man," added Mr. Kelly. To Races by Car. "On the night of January 0," said Mr. Kelly, "Mr. Hercus' car was taken from Remuera. Crawford drove, and he and Armstrong went to Thames for the races. Crawford said lie had been handed the car by an unknown man. They took out two girls for a drive, and the converted car was damaged to the extent of £20 in a collision with another car on the Coast J!oad. Crawford did not stop after the collision. Afterwards he had the car repaired and paid for the repairs by a valueless cheque. Altogether Crawford issued valueless cheques for £40 1?./G and received a total of £20 3/2 in cash." Mr. Kelly added that Crawford had a record. Armstrong had never been in trouble previously. He was a jockey without a license. Counsel for accused said that no doubt Armstrong was led astray by Crawford, who might have persuaded him to embark on a gay motor tour. Armstrong could not drive a car. Mr. Hunt: Probably not, but he is just its much to blame. Some of the contents of the tennis bag stolen from Mr. Hardy were found on him. Armstrong was sentenced to three months' imprisonment on each of the two charges of unlawful conversion of cars, the terms to be cumulative, and xu be followed by probation for twelve months for theft of the tennis bag. "Crawford has a bad record and is not long out of prison after serving twelve months," said the magistrate. "Ho will receive six months on one of the charges of false pretences, to be followed by two years' reformative detention. that will keep him out of the way for a time."