SUPREME COURT

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27208, 27 November 1953, Page 7

SUPREME COURT

JURY FAILS TO AGREE ORDER MADE FOR NEW TRIAL After a retirement of more than four hours a jury in the Supreme Court yesterday failed to agree on a verdict in the case in which Patrick Joseph Ward, aged 29, a foreman carpenter, was charged with attempting o break and enter the counting-house ° K. B. McLellan at 55 Lincoln road crime UgUSt 24 witll intent to commit a J n"^ ic ? McGregor made an order imn a ing e SeSSU U r g be ’ application of his counsel, th?t b„ Wa „ S „ ai ov i ed , baU «» condition A r ,P, or J? dall y to the police. Crnwn A fi 170 ?? 1 appeared for the WaM 8. Thomas for ’„ who Pleaded not guilty. tn M t r Brown, outlining the Crown case alleged k sald the offence was neve occurred about 5.15 th?'r,™.^ u g ust ? 4 - and the ca se for =?ar>«f? secd j n depended on circumsrantial evidence plus the positive identification of the accused. P du?? P ra l n ’^v? < ? had finished 5 a lr the c ?ntral Police Station at c J ch ng home along Lincoln i£ aa when he saw a man stooping at the door of McLellan’s garage as if ThA m ™ lng i th i e lock ’ said Mr Brown, thl A? oke £ up % ca ught sight of constable, slipped round the side disappeared. The. J3 e could not find him but he good look at the man and was able to identify him. noa?fiv!j e « op P° si te side of the street near the garage the constable found a SS?i r " Car ’ the ignition key in position, said Mr Brown. The engine was warm. It was a rental car and hy the accused from ri?<2ri’o n « Spicer, at Papanui. The accused s coat and scarf were in the

n^?? ns J a H e ? r^ n called other mempohce Force and it was an fttempt had been made 1+ « C r- ope ? t * ie door of the premises at 55 Lincoln road, said Mr Brown. Later, a resident took two screwMr McLellan and said he <£ nd them in his garden. They d Y? 6 m arks on the garage door. The police went to the home of Ward’s mother and, though it was clear he w as hying there, his bed had not been slept m. Ward later called at the police station and inquired why they were looking for him, said Mr Brown. He was interviewed by detectives and he denied attempting to break into McLellan s garage. He said he had hired ill c ar frp® Ford and Spicer but had In on ou tside their service station at 10.30 p.m. on the Sunday, with the ignition key in it. Mr Spicer would say that Ward had hired cars from him several times but had never returned them in such a way. Ward told the detectives he had stayed the night with a woman and left her place at 7.40 a.m. on the Monday.

Evidence for Crown Evidence was given for the Crown cy Constable W. McD. Ramage, Kenneth Birt McLellan, general and motor engineer, Ralph Edwin Spicer, a director of Ford and Spicer, Constable J. E S. Drain. Constable J. J. W. Jenkins, Detective-Sergeant G. W. Alty, and Acting-Detective R. W. Bamber. Acting-Detective Bamber said he went with Detective-Sergeant Alty to premises in Salisbury street at 9 a.m on the Monday. A woman came to the door in her dressing gown and took them into the sitting room. She said that Ward had gone to bed with her at 10.30 p.m. the previous day, and as far as she knew he was in bed all night. She last saw him at 7.40 o’clock that morning. Witness said he heard a noise in the bedroom and went in. A man was sitting on the edge of the bed pulling on his shoes, and evidently he had hurriedly dressed. He asked the man his name, and he replied: “Smith, and I come from the West Coast.” “That’s a fair answer to a fair question,” said his Honour. Acting-Detective Bamber said he

then asked the man how long he had been there.*The man was very evasive, but eventually said: “Book me down for 8.30.” Counsel for Defence Mr Thomas said the accused contended that a tragic mistake had been made and he had been mistakenly . identified as the man seen attempting to break into the garage. The case for the prosecution depended chiefly on the identification by Constable i Drain. That night he saw a man in : the cells similar to the description of the man he had seen early in the ; morning at the door of the garage, j When he went into the watchhouse he ,i saw that the accused had been charged ( with the offence, and he then definitely i identified in his own mind the accused < with the man he had earlier seen. It < was common knowledge how un- . reliable identification could be. There ] were many instances of miscarriages . of justice because of mistaken identity. Constable Drain had tried to give the jury the impression that he got a full view of the man at the garage door, but under cross-examination it was shown that in reality all he got was a glimpse, said Mr Thomas. He also gave contradictory evidence on the clothing worn by the man and by the accused. Ward went to the police when he | knew they were looking for him, and 1 told them where he had spent the J night. That alibi was supported by { the woman, said Mr Thomas. Ward’s " statement that he had left the rental ( car outside Ford and Spicer’s premises on the Sunday night had not been clearly proved untrue. His Honour summed up. The jury < retired at 4.40 p.m. and returned at 9.5 p.m.. when the foreman said they < were unable to agree, and there was < no chance of their reaching a verdict. < They were discharged. Mr Brown moved for a new trial. < and his Honour made an order that , a new trial be held during the week c beginning December 7. j