Magistrate’s Court CHARGE OF ASSAULT DISMISSED

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28629, 4 July 1958, Page 11

Magistrate’s Court CHARGE OF ASSAULT DISMISSED

“I have listened to this unsavoury tale with some interest, but I am not satisfied that the defendant is guilty of the offence he charged with and that if there was an assault there was sufficient provocation,” said Mr N. M. Izard, S.M., in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday. He dismissed a charge against Ronald John Jorgensen, aged 27, a seaman by occupation and now a garage proprietor, of assaulting Austin Dawn Holmes, on April 19. Jorgensen, who was represented by Mr R. S. D. Twyneham, plecftied not guilty. During the afternoon of April 19, the defendant and his wife met some friends at a city hotel and went to Holmes’s place at 99 Cobham street, said Sergeant E. Tuck. About 11.30 p.m., the defendant had an argument with his wife and blows were struck. Holmes intervened and asked them to leave his house. THEFT FROM RAILWAYS

“As a truck driver you were in a position of trust and you abused that trust. Thefts from a railway goods shed are easy to make but hard to detect,” saia the Magistrate when sentencing Charles Gee, aged 64, a driver, to 12 months’ imprisonment on 10 charges of theft of goods valued at £ 135 4s 3d. Gee, who had pleaded guilty to all charges, was represented by Mr P. P. J. Amodeo and was appearing for

sentence. He had known the defendant for 25 to 30 years and had always found him very honest, Mr Amodeo said. THEFT CHARGES Terrance Richard Jones, aged 18, Herbert Edgar Bright, aged 18, and John Edward Bright, aged 19, were admitted to probation for two years on condition that they return to their homes in Tauranga, when they appeared for sentence on a series of charges involving the theft of goods valued at £146. Jones and Herbert Edgar Bright were ordered to make restitution of £3 8s and John Edward Bright of £2 Bs. They were represented by Mr H. S. Thomas and previously had pleaded guilty to the charges. The Magistrate refused an application to suppress their names. Another youth, who was 16 years of age and who was concerned in the offences, had the charges transferred to the Children’s Court. The three youths were normally good lads and had committed the offences out of a feeling of bravado, said Mr Thomas. They were not criminal types and would settle down and lead normal lives if they were returned to their homes in Tauranga. CARNAL KNOWLEDGE Albert Duncan Mark Hopkinson, aged 18, pleaded guilty to two charges of unlawful carnal knowledge of a girl aged 15 at Kaiapoi and Woodend. and to a similar charge concerning a girl a?ed 13 at Christchurch. He was remanded to July 30' for a probation officer’s report. RESTITUTION ORDERED “You have pleaded guilty to taking a car belonging to your - employer and damaging it when you crashed into a fence. I had intended to sentence you to Borstal training, but in view of the probation officer’s report, and your counsel’s submissions, you will be released on probation for two years on condition that you continue on the present course of psychological treatment,’’ said the Magistrate when Brian Frederick Harvey, aged 18, appeared for sentence on a charge of unlawfully taking a car valued at £385 on June 18. He was represented by Mr R. B. Shand.

Harvey was ordered to make restitution of £3O for damage to the car and £5 for damage to the fence. SECOND ESCAPE ATTEMPT

Patrick Robert Bennett, who escaped from Paparua prison on June 13, made a second attempt to escape after he was recaptured on June 16 at Kaiapoi, Senior-Detective-Ser-geant J. B. McLean told the Magistrate.

On June 17 Bennett’s cell was inspected at 1.15 am. A blanket had been cut into strips and tied together, with one end secured on the bars of the cell window.

Appearing in the dock handcuffed to a constable, Bennett was remanded for a week, pending sentence. He pleaded guilty to nine charges of breaking and entering. He had stolen property valued at £37 10s and had 37 previous convictions.

UNLAWFUL WEAPON Peter King, aged 31, a storeman, and Trevor Lewis Maxwell Clarkson, a truck driver, wore each convicted and fined £lO on charges of being in possession unlawfully of an automatic pistol.

Sergeant E. S. Tuck said that a .45 calibre pistol and three rounds of ammunition were found at the R.N.Z.A.F. station at Wigram in the barrack box of a trainee. When questioned, the trainee said that he had got it from the defendant, King, who when interviewed said he got it from the defendant, Clarkson. The latter said the pistol was given to

him w’hen he was in Koi/a with KForce and he had sent it by surface mail to New Zealand. He was under the impression King was going to destroy the weapon. Neither defendant had previous convictions. The Magistrate said the maximum penalty for this offence was three months’ imprisonment or £lOO fine. The offence was a serious one, but as there was no unlawful use of the weapon he would treat the matter more leniently. SEVEN CHARGES Pleading guilty to two charges of breaking and entering and theft, one of theft of a lamp valued. at 16s 9d. and four charges of unlawfully taking motor-cars. Christopher Magnus William Anderson, aged 19, a salesman (Mr A. K. Archer), was remanded to July 10 for a probation officer’s report and sentence. The prosecution said that the total value of the stolen property was £lBl 19s 6d. of which goods of a value of £137 Ils 6d had been recovered. Bail was renewed. ESCAPE FROM CUSTODY

Morris Frederick Barr, aged 25, and Thomas James Kerr, aged 22, were remanded to July 10 on a charge of escaping from custody at Templeton on July 2. The accused were recaptured at Cheviot later on the same day.

THREE MONTHS’ GAOL Charles Puru, aged 26 (Mr B. J. Drake), was convicted and sentenced to three months' imprisonment on two charges, one of breaking, entering, and theft, and the other of theft to a total value of £46 12s 6d. Puru pleaded guilty. The Magistrate said that after Puru had completed his term he would be released on probation for 12 months. He was ordered to make restitution of £l4 12s. “COMMUNITY WILL WlN’’* If he persisted in his unlawful ways, the community would always win, said the Magistrate, when he sentenced George Maurice Bernard Hayes, aged 21, to one month’s imprisonment on each of the charges on which he appeared—one of the theft of a bicycle valued at £35, and the other of theft of goods valued at £1 12s 9d. OBSCENE LANGUAGE William Trevor Wilmott, aged 28 (Mr P. G. S. Penlington), was convicted and fined £2 on a charge of using obscene language in a cafe on June 28. IN BAR UNDER AGE On a charge of being on licensed premises at the Tai Tapu Hotel when he was under 21 years of age, Bruce Raymond Park, aged 20, a student (Mr B. A. Barrer), was convicted ' and discharged. On a further charge, one of giving false particulars about his age to the police, he was convicted and fined £l. Mr Barrer said that the defendant was' a member of a Canterbury Agricultural College Rugby team which had defeated the Banks Peninsula team that afternoon. The members of the team were celebrating the victory in the hotel. LICENSING CHARGES On a charge of being found in the licensed premises of the Central Hotel after hours on May 17, Norman John Fisher was convicted and fined £3. CASE DISMISSED A charge of housebreaking against Alan James O’Connor, aged 17 (Mr R. de Goldi), was dismissed. The Magistrate said that although it was true that the defendant went into the house when he had no right the prosecution evidence did not disclose the offence of which he was charged. The defendant pleaded not guilty. ADJOURNED Arthur Darfield Duthie, aged 39, a mechanic, appeared on a charge of failing to account for £Bl Ils between January 31 and March 8. The defendant pleaded guilty to the charge and the Magistrate adjourned the hearing to July 10 for a probation officer’s report and sentence.