MAGISTRATE’S COURT Youth Pleads Guilty To Theft, False Pretences

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27634, 15 April 1955, Page 6

MAGISTRATE’S COURT Youth Pleads Guilty To Theft, False Pretences

Neville Frederick Holmes, aged 17, a fonAer apprentice jockey, pleaded guilty to two charges of theft, involving £4l, and seven charges of obtaining £7l and clothing worth £46 Ils 2d by false pretences, when he appeared before Mr Rex C. Abernethy, S.M., in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday. He was .remanded to April 21 for sentence and for a report from the Probation Officer.. Bail was fixed in the sum of-£lo.in his own recognisance with one surety of £5O, and he was ordered to report daily to the police. Holmes was charged that on April 3, at Christchurch, he stole £5, the property of Roderick Clive Olsen; that on March 25, at Christchurch, he stole £36 belonging to Loma Kitty Chamberlain; that on January 25, at Wellington, he obtained £lO from John McMannaway Giles, licensee of the Empire Hotel, \by falsely representing that a cheque was a good and valid order for that amount, and that on January 26 he obtained a further £36 from McMannaway by a similar pretence; that on November 5, at Wellington, he obtained £l5 from W. Edgars, Ltd., by an invalid cheque; that on January 25, at Wellington, he obtained shoes valued at £2 19s 6d from Martin’s Shoe Stores, Ltd.; by an invalid cheque; that on January 25, at Wellington, he obtained clothing valued at £2O 8s lid from Vance Vivian, Ltd., by an invalid cheque; that on January 25, at Wellington, with another, he obtained clothing valued at £l9 2s 9d from Vance Vivian, Ltd., by an invalid cheque; and that on November 5 he obtained clothing valued at £4 and £ll in money from W. Edgars, Ltd., by an invalid cheque. Detective-Sergeant A. B. Tate, who prosecuted, said that accused was aged 17$ years and until the latter part of last year had been an apprentice jockey. He became overweight and had to give up his apprenticeship. A sum of £2OO in riding fees had been paid into his bank account in Palmerston North and accused had proceeded to draw cheques on the account. The charges he faced had arisen from cheques he had drawn after he knew that there was no money left in the account.

This month the police had received a complaint from a woman that a sum of money had been stolen from a boarding-house, said Detective-Ser-geant Tate. Accused, who was staying at the boarding-house, had been interviewed on April 3, and ha<y admitted taking £l6 from the woman’s bedroom. He said he had spent this money on taxis, races, and entertainments. He also admitted taking £5 from a room occupied by Olsen, and said that the £2OO which he had in his bank account last year had all gone on clothes and gambling with the exception of £4O which he had given his mother, and £2O which he had given to two companions, for whom he had also paid boat passages to the South Island. In January he had gone to a race meeting at Trentham, and on January 25 he booked in at the Empire Hotel, where he cashed a cheque for £ 10. The following day he cashed another for £35. On the same days he had bought clothing and footwear with valueless cheques, said Detective-Sergeant Tate. Detective-Sergeant Tate said that the total amount of money involved in the offences was £125 lbs lid. Accused had no money of his own at the present time. He had been going from place to place in the South Island. To the Magistrate, Detective-Ser-geant Tate said that accused had not been in trouble before and the offences were the result of irresponsibility. TOOK BICYCLE UNLAWFULLY Alan Clive Sim, aged 25, a test operator, who appeared for sentence on a charge of unlawfully converting a bicycle, valued at £29, the property of

Lynne Cherry, was convicted and ordered to come up for sentence within 12 months if called upon. The Magistrate said that in Christchurch, taking a bicycle was looked on with a pretty uneasy eye. Sim had dropped the bicycle when he knew he

was under observation. Apparently he took the bicycle because he was pressed for time to get back to work. “I don’t think you are a criminal, and I don’t think you will appear again or I would inflict a fairly severe penalty. You had a good (record and this happened out of the blue. I think you have had a sufficient fright,” said the Magistrate. BREAKING AND ENTERING

Patrick William Murphy, aged 22, pleaded guilty to a charge that on August 18, at Newton, he broke and entered the premises of T. J. Davenport and Sons and committed theft. He was remanded to April 21 for a Probation Officer’s report and sentence. Detective-Sergeant A. B. Tate said that it was an Auckland case. A fountain" pen ahd £3O in money were stolen. It was found that Murphy had given the pen to a woman in Auckland. He was interviewed on April 4 and readily admitted the offence. He said he had spent the money. Murphy was at present serving a sentence of two years' reformative detention imposed in Auckland in December last year.

LICENCE SUSPENDED Colin William Noonan pleaded guilty to charges that on February 13 he drove a motor-car in High street in a manner that might have been dangerous to the public and that he procured possession of a .22 rifle when be did not have a permit. On the first charge he was fined £5 and his driver’s licence was suspended for 28 days. On the second charge he was fined £l.

Joseph Alaister McKenzie was fined £1 for giving Noonan possession of the rifle.

Sub-Inspector J. C. Fletcher said that Noonan and two friends were driving north along Manchester street about 4.30 a.m. Noonan was turning into Lichfield street but apparently one of his friends wanted to go down High street. Noonan turned in one sweep. The car went on to the footpath and travelled along the footpath for 20 yards, just three feet from the shop windows, before it was steered back to the roadway. This strange piece of driving was seen by Constable Pontifex who stopped Noonan. It was then found that Noonan had the rifle with him and that he had obtained it from McKenzie. ON LICENSED PREMISES William Frederick King, Lomond Kennedy, and Trevor Farrell were each fined £1 for being found on licensed premises, the New Zealander Hotel, after hours on February 27. REMANDED A young man, whose name was ordered not to be published meantime and who was represented by Mr J. G. Leggat, was remanded on bail to April 21 on a charge of breaking and entering premises in Woolston on March 22 and committing theft. He was ordered to report daily to the police. -George James-Worthington, aged 19, an electrical mechanic (Mr J. G. Leggat) was remanded to April 21 on a charge that on March 5 he unlawfully converted to his own use a motor-car valued at £575, the property of Douglas Arthur Rait. Bail was fixed in the sum of £5O in accused’s own recognisance with one surety of £l5O. He was ordered to report daily to the police. Detective-Sergeant A. B. Tate appeared for the police. OBSCENE LANGUAGE Leonard Russell Sears pleaded guilty to a charge that on March 10 he used obscene language in Bedford row. He was convicted and fined £2. Sub-Insnector J. C. Fletcher, who prosecuted, said that Sears had gone to the coffee stall in Bedford row the worse for liquor and had taken a bottle of beer which a patron had left in the pocket of an overcoat he had hung up. Language had been used by the accused “who was very talkative anc * t talkative in a most unpleasant W %iat sort of thing will not do In a public place.” said the Magistrate convicting accused. “You are liable to imprisonment,”