BROKE PRISON.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 30, 5 February 1937, Page 3

BROKE PRISON.

TWO ESCAPEES.

GUILT ADMITTED.

STATEMENTS TO POLICE.

FOOD AND STORES STOLEN. (P.y Telegraph.—Press Association.) WANGANUI, this day. A prison escapade was recalled by the appearance in the Magistrate's Court this morning of Lindsay Edist Edward (larner, 27, and Albert Harris, 36, charged with breaking and entering the shop of Thomas James McKce by night and stealing a cash register, two cases of butter and a quantity of tobacco and stores valued at £104 10/3, and also with converting a car at The Chateau to their own use, valued at £398, the property of L. J. 1). Bavfield.

In evidence, L. J. D. Bayfield stated that the car was recovered six. miles from the Chateau.

James Mcfvee said the Vale lock on the front door of his shop was forced on the niprht of December 7. and £12. in addition to goods, was stolen. The greater portion of the stolen property had been recovered, but not the money. Arthur Bassett. in charge of the prison '•a'"! 1 at \N hakapapanui in December, said the prisoners were locked up at 7 p.m. and were released at 6.30 the next morning. On December 16 his attention was drawn to the doors of a hut where pieces of wood were sawn away. He said the prisoners could release themselves from the inside. He could not say whether the wood had been sawn from the dooi\ before the present prisoners had come there. Complaints About Food. The accused, Garner, remarked that the conditions and the food at the camp practically drove the prisoners to commit crime. The Bench replied that had nothing to do with the case at the present sta<r(T. The prisoner would have an opportunity of bringing the matter before the authorities later. Replying to a question by Harris, witness said he did. not notice* the condition of the doors of the hut the day following the crime. Detective White, of Hamilton, said he and Detective Murray, of Wanganui, were engaged in investigating robberies in the Tokaanu district on December 16. Both made an inspection of the lints and discovered that the doors had been interfered with. Detective Murray corroborated Detective White's statements. .He interviewed Harris in January, when accused frankly admitted that he was one of four prisoners who left their huts, took the car from the Chateau, and later broke into the store. How Escape Was Made. Witness read a statement by Harris in which accused said he was an inmate of Whakapapanui prison camp for about six weeks prior to December 16, there being about 10 to 12 other prisoners there, each having a wooden hut to himself. Only one prison officer was in charge. The huts were fitted with wooden doors, which opened inwards. The doors were secured by a bolt fitted into the door jamb, and padlocked on the outside. Round about December 4 or 5 he agreed with three other prisoners to get out of the huts one night and go to the Chateau and take a motor car and then go to the store at Owhango and break in and take some tobacco, tinned fruits, etc. The matter had been discussed and they could see that by cutting a small piece of wood out of the door jamb they could liberate themselves. One of the prisoners agreed to cut the piece of wood out on December 7. The pieces were stuck in again so as not to attract attention. With the other men prisoner was locked up that night. They had agreed to get out of the huts about 10 p.m., after the warder had put his lights out. The four prisoners walked along the roads from Whakapapanui Prison to the Chateau Tongariro, a distance of about 5J miles. On the way to the Chateau a motor bus had passed them, but they stepped into the scrub until it went by. Difficulty in Starting Car. One prisoner got a small car, continued the statement,, and pushed it down to the other men a hundred yards or so. He could not get the car to start. He then went to the basement of the Chateau and got another car. He told the other prisoners that the door had been locked and he had to break the glass to get in. In order to start the car he had to fiddle about with the wiring, as the switch key was missing. The four then set off for Owhango, and arrived there before 2 a.m. The car was pulled up near Owhango Post Office, opposite the store they were going to break into. A long screwdriver was. used to force the door of the store. They found sugar bags and filled them up with tobacco, tins of cigarettes, cigarette papers, tinned fruit, matches, honey and jam. They also took two boxes of butter and a cash register. They then drove back to Whakapapanui camp. Money Divided Up. They got back, said accused in his statement, and securely locked themselves in. The stolen money was divided up 1 . The four prisoners went to work at the crusher as usual that morning. When they stopped they loaded on to the prison lorry a case of butter and another sack of tobacco, fruit and jams. At the camp this was divided up and each prisoner planted his own share in the scrub and tussocks and under boulders some distance from the prison. The butter was hidden in a cool place in the tussocks. Finger Prints On Tin. Witness, continuing his evidence, said that Garner, when told that his finger prints were found in a mustard tin, said he had found it in the prison yard, and thought he would use it for a lunch tin later. He frankly admitted taking part in the robbery. Witness produced a statement by Garner, who added that he intended to make a complaint about the conditions at the camp, regarding food, and had told witness that he was hungry and desired a change of diet. He had complained on various occasions about the food. In his statement accused Garner said that while he was serving sentence at Whakapapanui the ration of tobacco to all prisoners had been cut down by half. Folio-wing this reduction he and three others decided to leave the prison one night and get some tobacco of their own. It was he who got the car at the Chateau and drove to Owhango to McKee's store. The two accused pleaded guilty and were committed for sentence.