Magistrate’s Court Three Years’ Gaol On Two Burglary Charges

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30762, 28 May 1965, Page 15

Magistrate’s Court Three Years’ Gaol On Two Burglary Charges

John Rangihuna, aged 31, unemployed, appeared in the Magistrate’s Court before Mr E. A. Lee, SJd., yesterday for sentence on two charges of burglary. He was warned that he was liable in future for preventive detention and was goaled for a total of three years. The charges were breaking and entering the storeroom of John Cameron’s ready-mix concrete plant, 100 Waltham road on May 5 and on the same date breaking and entering the Papanui Workingmen’s Club, Sawyers Arms road.

Mr R. F. B. Perry, for Rangihuna, said he had started life very badly but to some degree, though his list was bad, he had proved he could be a useful citizen.

The Magistrate told Rangihuna that over the last 12 to 13 years he had been sentenced to or should have spent five to seven years in prisons. In addition he had had the benefit of probation and had been fined for a variety of offences the majority of which had been for dishonesty. FINED £2O

Howard Leslie Shadbolt, aged 47, a managing director, pleaded not guilty to charges that on April 30 at the junction of Foremans road and the Main South road, near Islington, he drove a car while under the influence of drink or a drug, and that on the same date he used a car carelessly. Dr. J. S. Wilson said that on seeing Shadbolt about an hour after the accident he found him unfit to drive. Mrs Joan Patricia Lee said that she was stopped in her car at the junction of Foremans road and the Main South road when she saw the car Shadbolt was driving approach.

Shadbolt’s car failed to take the bend on the Main South road, ran into Foremans road and struck her car, which was halted at a stop sign. Cross-examined by Mr B. McClelland, for Shadbolt, she said she had first seen Shadbolt getting up from the gravel in Foremans road after the accident. She agreed the impact had been of some violence, as the passenger in Shadbait’s car had been flung on to the road as a result of the impact. Shadbolt, in evidence, said he had had some drink that day but remembered nothing about the accident. He said he had picked himself up from the bitumen of the Main South road after the accident. His passenger, who was his friend and also his foreman, had not recovered consciousness since the accident, , o

The Magistrate dismissed the charge of driving while under the influence of drink or a drug, but found Shadbolt guilty on the charge of careless use and fined him £2O and cancelled his licence for six months.

FINED £25 David John O'Brien, aged 18, a workman, was fined £25 and was ordered to make restitution of £4 Is 8d on a charge of breaking and entering the canteen of the Riccarton High School. He was placed on probation for one year on a charge of disorderly behaviour in Cathedral square, and was ordered to abstain from drink. O’Brien was appearing for sentence. Mr R. G. Blunt, for the accused, said that O’Brien had good intelligence and had been living at home since being released from hospital after an accident. He had had a severe blow on the head, and this might have changed his atitude. "You have got a wretched record and you are in need of training and discipline,” the Magistrate said to O’Brien. "If you appear again you will go back to Borstal or be sent to prison.” FORGERY AND THEFT Dulcie Wilson Fort, aged 46, a factory hand, appeared for sentence on charges of forging a social security age benefit order form and stealing £6 by using the form. The Magistrate told Fort that it was a miserable offence to steal from someone dependent on social security. It would, with her previous record, be Idle to impose a fine or expect restitution, and he imposed a sentence of one month’s imprisonment on each charge, the terms to be concurrent. BURGLARY Barry John Stoop, aged 25, a workman, appeared for sentence on a charge of breaking and entering on March 26 the warehouse of Beath and Company, Ltd., 26 Lichfield street. Mr J. F. H. Macfarlane, for Stoop, said the incident showed no criminality, and nothing was taken. The offence was not premeditated and was committed after Stoop had been drinking. The Magistrate said that over a considerable period he had seen quite a lot of Stoop and still thought there was some good in him if he would leave liquor alone.

He fined Stoop £l5 and admitted him to probation for 18 months. A condition of probation is that Stoop takes out and maintains a prohibition order for 18 months. BURGLARY

“Both of you deserve a term in Borstal, as burglary is not favourably regarded, but you will be given one further chance,” said the Magistrate when he fined John Allan Kirk, aged 17, a workman, and Raymond Anthony Hall, aged 23, a bootmaker, £2O each on a charge of burglary of the premises of Douglas Footwear, Ltd., in Gasson street. They were placed on probation for one year with a special condition for Kirk that he does not leave his employment without the authority of the probation officer. Mr D. H. stringer apeared for Kirk and Mr E. O. Sullivan for Hall. TOOK CAR Michael Francis Redden, aged 21, a seaman (Mr G. T. Mahon), appeared for sentence on a charge of unlawfully taking on May 5 a car valued at £256, the property of Flora Wilhemina van Deres. Mr Mahon said that the offence occurred after Redden had been to a hotel and parties at Lyttelton and Sumner. Though Redden did not remember travelling to Sumner, nor the taking of the car. he and the car had both been clearly identified by a police witness who had seen him pushing it down Richmond road. The offence was senseless, as Redden had no licence and could not drive. Redden was fined £2O. RECEIVING

Joan Evelyn Le Breton, aged 21, married, was placed on probation for 18 months on two charges of receiving stolen pro-

perty. She was ordered to make restitution of £2O.

Le Breton appeared for sentence on a charge of receiving a heater, electric jug, and binocular at Invercargill. She pleaded guilty yesterday to a charge of receiving a cake mixer, valued at £l4 6s 6d.

Sergeant Dowell said the mixer was stolen from a house in Papanui by her husband, who gave it to her. On bis instructions she sold it to a second-hand dealer and gave a false name.

“I am satisfied that you committed these offences because you were fairly desperate and were strongly influenced by your husband, who is not an inexperienced criminal,” the Magistrate said. UNLAWFUL INTERCOURSE James Hemi Mason, aged 25, a machine operator, who appeared for sentence on a charge that on April 10 he had unlawful sexual Intercourse with a girl aged 15, was fined £lO. The Magistrate said the girl was a willing party, and there was some doubt how old she looked. FALSE PRETENCES

A youth, whose name was suppressed, appeared for sentence on two charges of false pretences involving the cashing of valueless cheques. On one charge he was fined £lO and ordered to make restitution of £5. and on the other he was admitted to probation for 18 months and ordered to make restitution of £5. STOLE WATCH

A woman, whose name was suppressed, appeared for sentence on a charge of stealing a wrist-watch. She was fined £5 and ordered to make restitution of £3 to a pawnbroker. DISCHARGED

A youth, whose name was suppressed, was discharged without conviction under Section 42 of the Criminal Justice Act On a charge of stealing a tin of paint, valued at £3 8s 6d, the property of Mason, Struthers, Ltd., on May 3. He was ordered to pay £lO towards the cost of the prosecution. Mr B. J. Drake, for the accused, said that the offence was completely but of character. A conviction would impose a penalty out of proportion to the offence, as he would be unable to follow his chosen career.

“It is very surprising to find a person like you in this situation,” the Magistrate said to the youth. "This would never have happened if your judgment had not been clouded by liquor. I am not going to see your life and your career ruined by one stupid act.” SHOT WHITE SWAN Duncan McFarlane, John Kennedy McQuilkin, and Murray Langford Taylor, all company directors, pleaded not guilty to a charge of having on May 1 at the Rakaia river mouth, hunted absolutely protected game without lawful authority. Mr E. I. White appeared for each defendant. Mr J. G. Leggat, for the North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society, said that two field officers visited McFarlane, who did not deny that a white swan had been shot. McFarlane told the officers that it was an unfortunate mistake. The swan flew over out of the sun soon after some black swans had flown over in the opposite direction.

The other defendants approached the society and said they were in the same position as McFarlane and expected the same treatment.

The Magistrate said he did not see why he could not accept that there had been a mistake, possibly through carelessness, and discharged each defendant under section 42 of the Criminal Justice Act. Each was ordered to pay £5 towards the cost of the prosecution. SMUGGLED RADIO Hector Matthew Jarden, aged 67. a contractor (Mr R. G. Blunt), pleaded guilty to a charge of smuggling a transistor radio at Lyttelton on April 7. Mr N. R. Morgan, for the Customs Department, said that a Customs officer saw the defendant on board the ship Crusader. Later the officer asked Jarden to accompany him to the Customs shed, where Jarden produced the radio. He said the offence had been committed on the spur of the moment, and he had paid £l6 for the radio. Mr Blunt said that Jarderi had fork-lift trucks working on the deck of the vessel and while he was supervising them a Chinese crew member approached him. After asking whether the radio was "all right” and receiving an assurance, the defendant paid for it and carried it in his hand round the deck till another crew member told him to put it down his shirt. Jarden was suspicious, but his suspicions were not confirmed till after he had paid for the radio and been told to put it down his shirt. Jarden was fined £25. ADJOURNED

Bryan Saville Meredith (Mr S. G. Erber) appeared on a charge that on June 3, being a person about to leave New Zealand, he made a false declaration. The charge was laid under the Immigration Act. Bail- was allowed after the granting of an adjournment. Mr N. R. Morgan appeared for the Labour Department. OVERTOOK IN TUNNEL

John Stewart Barr, Joseph William McFetrish, and Graham Phillip Gurr were each fined £5 for overtaking in the Christchurch-Lyttelton road tunnel. (Before Mr E. S. J. Crutchley, S.M.) OFFENSIVE BEHAVIOUR Charged with offensive behaviour in a Christchurch Transport Board bus on January 12, Roderick George Burbery, aged 24, a former bus driver (Mr M. J. Glue), pleaded not guilty. He was convicted and fined £lO, with witnesses’ expenses of £3. An application for the suppression of name was refused.

A 17-year-old girl said that she was travelling with two other girls on the bus driven by Burbery on January 12. As she was leaving the bus at the terminus, her bag broke, and she went back into the bus to get it. While she was still in the bus, the driver closed the door and made indecent suggestions to her. Burbery said in evidence that he did not close the door. The girl came to the front of the bus and talked to him for a few minutes before he made the suggestions. He knew the girl slightly, and had been told she was of easy virtue. ASSAULTED WIFE

Edgar Williams, aged 67, a gardener, was fined £7 10s on a charge of assaulting his wife. Jessie Margaret Williams, on May 2. He pleaded guilty. Sergeant L. A. Dowell said that Wi'Kiams arrived home at 8.30 p.m. intoxicated. He had a bottle of whisky with him, and as he was prohibited his wife took it from him and poured it down the sink. The accused became violent and struck her on the right eye. OBSCENE EXPOSURE To three charges of obscene exposure in Hagley Park on May 5, May 6, and May 10, a youth, whose name was suppressed (Mr R. G. Blunt), pleaded guilty. He was convicted and remanded on bail to June 3 for sentence. TOOK CYCLE Denis John Downey, aged 20, a soldier, and lan Stewart Ernest Lucas, aged 18. a soldier, were each fined £lO on a joint charge of unlawfully taking a cycle, valued at £6 10s. on April 16. They pleaded guilty.

THEFT OF STOCKINGS Charged with the theft of five pairs of stockings, the property of Woolworths (N.Z.), Ltd. on May 14. David Rozntal. aged 55, a cleaner (Mr M. J. Glue), pleaded guilty. He was convicted and fined £7 10s. and an order was made for the return of the property. Sergeant Dowell said that at 8.55 p.m. on May 14 Rozntal took the stockings, which were valued at £1 14s 6d, from a display counter, and attempted to leave the shop without paying for them. Mr Glue submitted that Rozntal, who had consumed a bottle of whisky on the day of the offence, took on a drunken impulse something that was of no use to him. CHARGES ADMITTED

Robert Klngi, aged 21, a workman, was convicted and discharged on charges of assault, unlawfully taking a tractor, and theft of a suitcase and expanding chest developer at Gisborne. He pleaded guilty. Sergeant Dowell said that the accused and two other persons ceased work on a Gisborne station where they had been scrub cutting. The articles were stolen from a hut. As the accused and the other persons were leaving, their car got bogged, and they took a tractor to tow it out. The owner of the tractor came up, and he was attacked from behind.

Klngi was at present serving a term of imprisonment imposed on other charges. PROBATION BREACH

lan Richard Fratt, aged 22, a labourer, was fined £3 on a charge of breach of probation at Wellington on May 18 by failing to work where directed by the probation officer. He pleaded guilty. Mr J. Ryley, a probation officer, said that Pratt was convicted on a charge of being idle and disorderly in December, 1964, and was placed on probation. He had very limited ability and found it difficult to hold a job. He had been to a special school. STOLE GROCERIES A woman, whose name was suppressed (Mr A. I. Cottrell), was convicted and fined £5, and an order was made for the return of the property, when she pleaded guilty to theft of groceries to the value of 3s 2d, the property of the Self-Help Coop., Ltd., on May 14 THEFT AS SERVANT Charged with theft as a servant of a carton of beef joints, valued at £l2 15s Sd, the property of Thomas Borthwick and Sons, Belfast, on May 4, a man, whose name was suppressed (Mr G. S. Brockett), pleaded guilty. He was convicted and remanded on bail to June 3 for sentence. FIGHTING Patrick Leonard Cleary, aged 21, a cutter, was fined £5 on a charge of fighting in Westport outside a dance on April 17. He pleaded guilty. WARRANT ISSUED A warrant was Issued for the arrest of John Morgan Pickworth, aged 22. a workman, when he failed to appear on a charge of using obscene language at Marton on December 22. REMANDED Denis Vincent Lees, aged 18, a process worker, was remanded on ball to June 3 on a charge of breaking and entering the Christchurch Boys’ High School on April 30. Peter Lloyd Machirus, aged 19. a carpet felter, was remanded In custody to June 9 for the taking of depositions when he elected trial by jury on a charge of breaking and entering on May 23. On a further charge of receiving on April 26, to which he pleaded not guilty, he was remanded to June 3. Michael Walter Mark Prenderville, aged 31,a rigger, was remanded on bail to June 3 on a charge of driving in Manchester street on May 15 under the influence of drink or drugs. James Hall Morris, aged 69, a retired farm-worker, was remanded in custody to June 3 when he elected trial by jury on a charge of threatening to kill a woman on April 28.

Robert Ralph Dynes, aged 24, a salesman, was remanded in custody to June 3 on a charge of breaking and entering a dwelling house on May 6. A youth, whose name was suppressed, was remanded on bail to June 3 on a charge of theft by failing to account for £264 11s 2d between December 1 and May 7. Russell Darcy Griebel, aged 24, a labourer, was remanded on bail to June 3 on a charge of stealing brass ornaments, valued at £6, the property of Alan Lucas on May 21. FINED, DISQUALIFIED

In a reserved judgment, the Magistrate convicted Frank Bennett, a taxi-driver (Mr J. W. Dalmer), on a charge of driving at a speed which might have been dangerous in Estuary road on February 7. Bennett was fined £l5, and his licence was cancelled for one year. The Magistrate said that noone was entitled to rely on a stop sign or the right-hand rule when he was travelling at a speed of 50 miles an hour in a residential area. (Before Mr J. D. Kinder, S.M.) FINED FOR ASSAULT

Albert Barrett, aged 54, a taxi-driver was fined £5 on a charge of assaulting Robert Alfred Howard Fink in Cathedral square on February 18. He was ordered to pay witnesses’ expenses of £9. Barrett, who pleaded not guilty, was represented by Mr G. R. Joyce.

Evidence was given that Fink was standing in a queue at a taxi rank in the Square when Barrett stopped his taxi a short distance from the front of the rank. Barrett had finished work and was on his way home, and he asked whether anyone was going to Papanui Or St. Albans. Fink, who was at the head of the queue, got into the front seat, and at the same time two girls got into the rear seat. Barrett told Fink that he already had a fare, and was not going to take him. Fink was told to leave the taxi but refused, and was ejected by Barrett. Fink walked to the front of the taxi and was writing down the registration number when Barrett drove off. The taxi touched Fink, knocking his coat out of his hand, and Fink had to jump out of the way. Barrett said that Fink was intoxicated and argumentative. He denied driving his car into Fink. Mr Joyce said after the Magistrate had convicted Barrett that Barrett had been a taxi proprietor for 11 years, and had no convictions. The loss Of his driver’s licence would be a great hardship. Taxidrivers often had to deal with difficult persons who were drunk or argumentative. Barrett honestly felt that the girls had priority. A situation had developed out of nothing andhad been aggravated by the ostentatious actions of Fink, who appeared to be prone to complain. There was some degree of provocation. The Magistrate said he accepted that the assault, in the degree of physical force used, was of a minor nature and did not endanger the complainant. The taxi industry was a protected one, and had responsibilities to the public.

Skis hired at the Chateau Tongariro mountain shop for £1 a pair and not returned last year were worth £l3OO, according to the manager of the Chateau (Mr W. E. Traill). This was about the average for a year, he said. Many persons who hired skis by paying the £1 deposit failed to return them. There were a few known breakages, but the remainder must have been taken, Mr Traill said.