Man To Stand Trial On Shop-Breaking Charge

Press, Volume XCII, Issue 27795, 21 October 1955, Page 7

Man To Stand Trial On Shop-Breaking Charge

The numbers of 16 £5 notes handed to detectives by Clifford Fox, aged 33. a carpenter, at New Brighton on S«h be , r >, 8 ’ bad . been found to tally ‘.. c ™ mbers of notes stolen ReaTh £ ew Bri ghton shop of ceath and Company, Ltd., between 2™k. 1 » aW j 2 ; Tbis evidence was b r. tw< J detectives in the Magishat®jS Court yesterday during the ot evidence on two charges brought against Fox. ?i hc a c 2 ncl y sio . t ’ of ‘he evidence. Fox pleaded not guilty to both charges and was committed to the Supreme netiiy, SM by Mr Rex C ’ Ab ® r ’ ~c barg ed that between October 1 and 2 he broke and entered c„™J; ount i? g - h . ouse of Beatb and Company, Seaview road, New Brigh'n 3 ?! committed theft, and that on October 8, at New Brighton, he es S, be lt from lawful custody. _J'? r i*. G -.. Holder appeared for Fox .nd Detective-Sergeant A. B. Tate conducted the case for the police. Detective-Sergeant G. C. Urquhart, the seventeenth of 19 witnesses, said P® searched Fox’s house on the mornmg of October 8 for explosives and money in connexion with the- theft ? o rao “ey from Beaths on October 1-2. on this visit to the house, he S'™ a . cc 2 m ß an L ed b y DetectiveSergeant F. G. Pine. Detective D. P. Highsted and Constable Owers, of the women s division. vJ??.« a £ ival A at the house ’ F °x admitted them to the livineroom where w Vy ltn S ss 2 .informed Fox that Dick w ratten had been arrested that mornmg for breaking and entering a shop at Amberley and that explosives had been founa in Wratten’s possession. Fox said that Wratten had left the place on the Thursdav to live with another chap, said Detective-Sergeant Urquhart a * v informed accused I had reason to believe that he was behind the breaking and entering of Beaths, New Brighton, the previous week-end, and he said he knew nothing about it,” said witness. ‘I askeef him what Tonn y had , an . d he said about l □ . 1 asked him how long he had this money and he said for some time. He told me the money had been saved up from work he had done and that it was money he used in his business. He also said £6O of it he had received from a bookmaker,” said witness. “He alleged he had got this money about a week before. He would not disclose the name of the bookmaker.” “In Smoke” In’ reply to further questions put to him. Fox had said this money was in smoke,” said witness. “I asked him whereabouts in smoke and he said he would not leave any money lying around there. In smoke means the money was secreted,” said witness. . At this stage he said ‘just a minute, went into his bedroom and ushered out two youths in there and they left the house,” said witness. I then produced the search warrant. He glanced at it and said to go ahead. I told the accused that if the money was in the house he had better produce it because we would find it anyway and that we could save him a lot of inconvenience. Shortly after this he went into the bedroom again and when I went to the door I saw him bend down near the floor at the head of the bed and when he straightened up I saw he had three bundles of - notes in his hand. He gave me the money. “Accused pointed to one bundle and said there was exactly £65 in it. He

said that was the money he had obtained from the bookmaker. In the largest bundle he said there was £B5 and m the other one, £l5. I counted the notes and found the amounts he stated were correct,” said DetectiveSergeant Urquhart. Notes Checked In the largest bundle, he found 17 £5 notes and in the second bundle there were 13 £5 notes. The bundle of £l5 was made up of £1 notes, said Detective-Sergeant Urquhart. The notes totalled £165.

“After counting them, I pushed the notes over to Detective-Sergeant Pine who had produced his notebook in which were recorded the serial numbers of the £5 and £lO notes stolen from Beaths. The accused stood beside DetectiveSergeant Pine and wanted to know about the numbers,” said DetectiveSergeant Urquhart. “DetectiveSergeant Pine said he had the numbers of quite a few notes stolen from Beaths. The accused then became somewhat uneasy, paced up and down and then said: ‘Before Wratten left, he gave me a tenner for board.’ Fox saicr this amount had been made up of two £5 notes.” Detective-Sergeant Pine commenced to check the numbers of the notes against the list he had and as he found one that corresponded he put a cross beside it and at the same time said that it corresponded, said Detective-Sergeant Urquhart. He found four notes in the £B5 roll and nine in the £65 roll that corresponded with the numbers of notes taken from Beaths. Accused Arrested Detective-Sergeant Urquart said he and Detective-Sergeant Pine took Fox into the kitchen and witness told him that four full numbers and nine terminal numbers on 'the notes he had corresponded with the numbers of notes stolen from Beaths. “I gave him the customary warning. Accused said: T was never there,”’ said DetectiveSergeant Urquhart. “I then told accused I was arresting him on a charge a breaking and entering Beaths the previous week-end.”

The three of them went into Fox’s bedroom, where Fox put on a sports coat. He then began walking towards the bedroom door. *1 followed him and Detective-Sergeant Pine followed me. Just as we were between the kitchen and the back door he suddenly bolted. He ran down the section, swung left, jumped on to a pile of wood, and with considerable agility vaulted over a high paling fence. I saw him disappearing into a property at the rear in the general direction of Howe street. I ran into the street and directed four constables in a police car to Howe street. These constables were to have assisted in the search of the house if required,” said witness. Later in the morning, witness said, he was in the house when DetectiveSergeant Pine entered the livingroom with a screwdriver.

On October 11, Detective-Sergeant Urquhart said, he went to Beaths at New Brighton and removed a door jam from the manager’s office. The end of the screwdriver found by DetectiveSergeant Pine fitted perfectly into the identations on the door jam. Detective-Sergeant Uruqhart then demonstrated to the Magistrate and counsel the way the screwdriver fitted the indentations.

After this demonstration Fox asked if he could try the fit also, and the Bft by Bin door jam was hoisted up on the dock and he was given the screwdriver. There were calls from the Magistrate and Detective-Sergeant Tate as Fox began to insert the screwdriver into the two marks, and the Magistrate ruled that his counsel could try the screwdriver for fit, but Fox could not. On a later cheek he found that four numbers in the £B5 bundle of £5 notes, and 12 of the 13 numbers of notes in the £65 bundle corresponded with the numbers of notes stolen from Beaths, said witness. Scene in Office

A description of the scene in the manager’s office of Beaths shortly after the blown safe was discovered was given by Detective-Sergeant Pine. Witness said that while he was alone with Fox at the police station—-shortly after Fox had been cautioned and charged with breaking and entering and escaping—Fox had told him that Wratten owed the bookmaker £B5, and had paid him the £B5. The bookmaker owed Fox £65, and had paid him that amount. Fox had alleged that Wratten had paid the bookmaker in £5 and £lO notes and had been drinking heavily, said witness. Evidence of the search for and the capture of Fox was given by Constable B. S. Parkes, officer in charge of the Shirley station. That completed the evidence. Fox pleaded not guilty and the Magistrate committed him for trial to the next session of the Supreme Court; which begins on Tuesday.