FOUR MEN IMPRISONED FOR SAFE-BREAKING

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28984, 27 August 1959, Page 6

FOUR MEN IMPRISONED FOR SAFE-BREAKING

ffteu, Press Association)

AUCKLAND. August 26. Four men who specialised in safe-breaking raids in stolen cars on towns and centres from Wellsford to Whakatane came before the Magistrate’s Court at Auckland today for sentence on nearly 100 offences. They all received prison sentences. Ordinary judicial language was hardly sufficient to cover the depths of this criminality and gravity of offending, Mr M. C. Astley, S.M., told the four, noting how, when they were released on bail pending sentence for one series of raids, they set out the next week-end on another. The four were Buddy Desmond Crapp. aged 23. Bernard Clifford Hughes, aged 21, both workmen, Oliver Clarke, aged 26. driver, and Mark Nephia Sommers, aged 18, machinist. The Court was told last week that, together with a fifth man since sent on to the Supreme Court for sentence, the four were responsible for stealing and damaging property worth £23.114. although most of this was in stolen cars since recovered. The group

had broken open safes in post offices and Totalisator Agency '■ Board branches in many areas. Today Mr Astley gaoled Crapp ■ for five years, Hughes for four years and a half, and Clarke for ' four years and sentenced Somj mers to Borstal training (maximum three years). The Magistrate said Crapp was the leader (87 charges) with little difference between him and Hughes, who was appearing with only three fewer charges. Both men had qualified, but for their ages, to be sent to the Supreme Court for the indeterminate preventive detention sentence (maximum three to 14 years) but the law had not anticipated nor provided for this sentence for anyone under 25. But the Court must impose sufficiently long-term reformative sentences so that these two might make their “orgy of crime” the last of their offending, said the ■ Magistrate. The Magistrate imposed cumulative terms of three and two years’ gaol on Crapp and three and one year and a half on

Hughes. Clarke (70 charges) was sentenced to cumulative terms of three years and one year. Sommers, who, the Court said, “went along with the others” and was on 37 charges. Was sentenced to Borstal. A fifth man, Harry Arona, aged 25. workman, was sentenced to corrective training (maximum three years) on a charge of receiving property stolen in one of the raids. The Magistrate said his suspicion was that Arona was more closely connected with the others than he had admitted.