SUPREME COURT Youth Found Guilty Of Robbery
Hoani Pitama, aged 10, a labourer, was yesterday found guijty v by a jury in the Supreme Court on a charge of robbery. The jury recommended leniency. Mr Justice Wilson remanded Pitama in custody until February 10 for sentence.
Pitama was charged that, with another man, he robbed Peter Christopher andKypros Kotzikas of money and cheques to a total value of £3O 17 s, on November 10, 1063.
Mr I. C. J. Polson appeared for the Crown and Mr P. G. S. Penlington for Pitama. Christopher said in evidence that early on November 10 as he and Kotzikas left
a restaurant and crossed to their car they were spoken to by two Maoris. As they got into the car, the Maoris came to the windows, and the Maori on his side of the car asked for money. The man placed a gun through the window, and the witness gave him 5s in silver and then a 10s note. The man searched the witness’s pockets and took £2O in New Zealand notes, £lO in English notes and a cheque. The witness said that the man with the gun said: “I don’t like you- I’ll kill you,” but later allowed them to drive off. Pitama was on the other side of the car, said the witness.
Kotzikas said that the door on his side of the car was partly open, and when he tried to get out the man prevented his doing so by standing against the door. He thought that that man was Pitama.
To Mr Penlington, the witness said he thought that Pitama could have heard what the other Maori was saying and could have seen the gun. The other man concerned in the robbery, who had been sentenced to Borstal training in the Children’s Court, said that he had held the gun, a starting pistol. Although he had displayed this gun at a party earlier in the evening, he had not shown it to Pitama. He had spent all the money himself, said the witness. Detective-Constable P. H. Berryman said that when he interviewed Pitama on November 10 he denied any connexion with the robbery. On November 12 the accused said that he did not lay a hand on anyone and only pushed the door shut as one of the men tried to. get out of the car. Mr Penlington called no evidence for the defence. In his address to the jury he submitted that there was. no evidence that Pitama had ever had any of the stolen money, or had known that a gun had been presented by the man standing on the other side of the car.
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Bibliographic details
Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30365, 14 February 1964, Page 8
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447SUPREME COURT Youth Found Guilty Of Robbery Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30365, 14 February 1964, Page 8
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