MAGISTRATE’S COURT Disqualified Driver Sent To Gaol For Six Months

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31232, 2 December 1966, Page 9

MAGISTRATE’S COURT Disqualified Driver Sent To Gaol For Six Months

A 24-year-old grocer, Peter John Heyder, was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment and disqualified from driving for 10 years, with endorsement following for five years, when he appeared for sentence in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday on eight charges of driving while disqualified, one charge of failing to stop after an accident and two charges of exceeding 30 miles an hour. Mr H. J. Evans, S.M., was on the bench. The offences were committed between October 5 and November 11.

The Magistrate said that he was concerned about the defendant as a member of society. Disqualified driving struck at the roots of justice. The offences represented defiance of the law. He could not remember a graver case than the defendant’s. The probation officer’s report and a report from a psychiatrist showed nothing to indicate that the defendant was not responsible for his actions, he said. Moreover, the defendant had previous convictions for driving while disqualified.

Mr L. G. Holder appeared for the defendant. IDLE AND DISORDERLY Anthony Alfred McHerron, aged 51, unemployed, was convicted and ordered to appear for sentence within 12 months if called upon on a charge of being an idle and disorderly person without sufficient lawful means of support. He had pleaded not guilty. Constable J. J. Highsted said that he went to the Main North road at 1.15 p.m. on November 29. He found the defendant in an unkempt condition with Is 3d in his possession. The defendant told him that he was trying to get to the West Coast. THEFT A 62-year-old woman, whose name was suppressed (Mr E. O’Sullivan) was convicted and ordered to appear for sentence if called on within one year on a charge of theft of goods to the value of £1 Is lid, and 10s 4d from two shops.

A charge of theft of a packet of fruit salts and a packet of biscuits to the total value of 5s 7d, the property of a shop, on August 22 against a woman (Mr P. G. Hill), whose name was also suppressed, was dismissed. She pleaded not guilty. (Before Mr E. S. J. Crutchley, S.M.) CONVICTED OF BURGLARY Brian John Raven was convicted and remanded in custody until December 8 for sentence when he appeared on three charges of burglary. Raven, a painter and paperhanger, aged 28, who pleaded not guilty, was convicted of breaking and entering Ritchie Electronic and TV, Ltd., on September 30; breaking and entering Wainoni Drapery, Ltd., on October 7; and -breaking and entering A. A. Glendinning, Ltd., on November 3. Mr D. H. Stringer, for Raven, submitted that apart from the doctrine of recent possession, there was no direct evidence of the accused having been involved in the burglaries. WILFUL DAMAGE

A man who had earlier been convicted of assaulting Leila Helen Doris Nikoloff on October 8, was placed on probation for one year and ordered to take psychiatric or medical treatment as directed by the probation .officer. He was Anton Stamatoff Nikoloff. tailor, aged 38 (Mr R. G. Blunt). On a charge of wilfully damaging two car windows, the property of John Wayne Saville, on November 3, Nikoloff was fined £7 and ordered to make restitution of £B. PROBATION Evan Wayne Howie was placed on probation for one year and ordered to open a Post Office savings account as directed by the probation officer, when he appeared for sentence on a charge of receiving stolen goods. Howie, a lino-layer, aged 18, had earlier been convicted of receiving property valued at £3 13s from Barrie Richard Gientworth on October 26. ASSAULT CHARGE Catherine Ann Pullman, aged 23, an unemployed machinist, was convicted and discharged under Section 42 of the Criminal Justice Act on a charge of assaulting Noeline Leslie MacArthur on September 19. Pullman, who pleaded not guilty, was represented by Mr S. G. Erber. She was ordered to pay court costs and witness’s expenses of £l. (Before Mr K. H. J. Headifen, S.M.) BURGLARY Peter Ferguson Campbell, aged 29. a machine-hand (Mr J. W. Dalmer) pleaded guilty to charges of burglary, theft, receiving and unlawfully taking a trailer. On each charge he was convicted and remanded on bail to December 9. He pleaded guilty to charges that on November 17 he broke and entered the sheds at the Harewood golf course, that on September 15 he received carpenters’ tools valued at £9O knowing them to have been dishonestly obtained, that on October 6 he stole 22 sheets of roofing iron valued at £l6 13s Bd, that he unlawfully took a trailer valued at £3O. and that on November 17 he stole 1200 super feet of timber and a chain set valued at £5. Sergeant V. F. Townshend said that two motor mowers, petrol and other goods valued at £77 were taken from the Harewood golf course. Tools valued at more than £3OO had been taken from a shed Tools valued at £9O had been recovered from Campbell. CHARGES ADMITTED In the last two months five persons had been apprehended

cashing cheques from the same stolen cheque book, said Detec-tive-Sergeant D. Porteous when Francis Edgar Burgess, aged 60. retired, appeared on six charges of false pretences and one of theft.

He pleaded guilty to all charges and was convicted and remanded in custody to December 9 for sentence.

A cheque book was stolen from a parked car and Burgess was given four of the cheques, said Detective - Sergeant Porteous. Between October 26 and November 17 he cashed six cheques at Walkers Dairy, Ltd., Hereford street, Clarksons Supermarket, Linwood avenue, Cross Hi Grade Meats, Ferry road, Beckenham Dairy, Colombo street, Islington Hotel, and Opawa Supermarket, Ltd. On November 6 he took a radio, a wallet and money, and two cheques from a boarding house where he had been staying. The total value of property and money obtained by Burgess was £229 12s. Only 14s was recovered. Burgess said he had been on a drinking spree for about a month. “CAUSING ALARM” “The incidence of burglary in this city is reaching the stage where it is causing me some alarm,” said the Magistrate when David George Keenan, aged 30, a contractor, asked for bail when being remanded on a charge of burglary and four charges of false pretences. Keenan said he wanted bail so he could attend to his business in Auckland.

When persons from other E laces were charged with urglary in Christchurch he was not prepared to grant them bail, said the Magistrate. “I see no reason to inflict more burglaries on the longsuffering people of Christchurch,” he said.

Keenan was remanded in custody to December 8. REMAND GRANTED

David McDonald, aged 25, a butcher, appeared on a charge that on September 14 he incurred a debt by obtaining credit by a false pretence. He was remanded on bail till December 8. McDonald had asked for the remand in order to obtain legal advice. ASSAULT

lan David Barnett, aged 22, unemployed (Mr R. G. Blunt), pleaded guilty to a charge that on October 6 he assaulted May Edith Odering. He was convicted and discharged. Detective-Sergeant Porteous said that Barnett was a passenger on a train to Lyttelton, together with some college girls. He became annoyed with the noise the girls were making and had asked a prefect to quieten the girls. An argument developed with the prefect and Barnett had pushed the prefect over. Odering had then told him to cut it out and he had struck her on the face. Mr Blunt said the prefect involved was a boy. Barnett’S version was that he was travelling with a girl friend in thetrain and some of the girls had been using exceedingly bad language. He complained to the prefect and said he would report it to the guard. The complainant sat on the edge of a seat with her legs outstretched to prevent him from going to the guard. He claimed he had pushed her aside which was a technical assault. He had, in fact, reported the matter to the guard. The Magistrate said that on the one hand the Court could not condone the fact that Barnett had taken the law into his own hands but he would concede that Barnett had been provoked. He also found that bad language had been used by the girls. ' IMPERSONATED POLICE

Charged with impersonating the police on November 19, a youth, whose name was suppressed (Mr A. P. C. Tipping), was convicted and fined £5. He pleaded guilty. The defendant arrived at a party dressed in clothes similar to those worn by the police and he said he was a policeman, said Detective-Sergeant Porteous. When someone questioned the fact that he was a policeman the defendant threatened to have the person arrested for assaulting a policeman. Mr Tipping said the offence was a practical joke which backfired badly. There was no siinister motive. DISCHARGED He was told by the police that the defendant had no excuse for has actions but on the other hand he was given a full account by the defendant’s counsel, said the Magistrate when a young man. whose name was suppressed (Mr L. M. O’Re billy) was discharged under section 42 of the Criminal Justice Act on a charge of fighting in Hereford place on October 22. He pleaded guilty. Detective-Sergeant Porteous said the defendant was fighting in the middle of a crowd of youths at 10.50 p.m. The defendant had no excuse to offer for his actions.

Mr O’Reilly said the defendant was in a car when a youth stepped out and hammered the roof of the car and kicked the tyres. The defendant and his friend attempted to restrain the youth When he refused to stop. It was a very normal attempt to protect property!, said the Magistrate. STOLE FLAG Two airmen who stole an advertising flag worth £lB from the Prebbleton Garage on November 26 were each convicted and discharged under section 42 of the Criminal Justice Act on payments of costs of £1 10s. Suppression of name w’as refused. They were Alan Francis Perry, aged *lB, and Graham Walker, aged 20. They pleaded guilty to a joint charge of theft. Perry said they had had a few drinks before the offence and thought they would souvenir the flag. They had apologised to the firm for their action. SHOPLIFTING Lawrence Sinclair, aged 55, a painter and decorator, pleaded guilty to a charge of stealing on October 25 chocolate of a total value of 4s 6d the property of Roy Collins, of 284 Main North road? He was convicted and fined £5. IDLE AND DISORDERLY Pleading guilty to a charge of being idle and disorderly in Ashburton in that he had Insufficient lawful means of support on November 24, Robert Murray W’ickenham. aged 20, a nurseryman, was convicted and remanded in custody to December 9 for sentence. On a charge of breaking and

entering a holiday bach at Whangarei between September 30 and October 29, to which he pleaded not guilty, he was also remanded to December 8. NOT PUBLIC PLACE

Saying that a room in the casualty department of Christchurch Hospital where stretcher cases were taken could not be held to be a public place on the night in question, the Magistrate dismissed a charge of behaving in a disorderly manner in a public place brought against a man whose name was suppressed. The man (Mr M. J. Glue) pleaded not guilty. UNLAWFULLY TOOK CYCLE Bobby Pakau, aged 20, a forklift operator (Mr M. J. Cashmere), pleaded guilty to a charge that on November 24 he unlawfully took a cycle valued at £l5. He was convicted and fined £4. UNLAWFULLY ON PREMISES James Anthony Bell, aged 21, a fireman (Mr H. J. B. Quigley), pleaded guilty to a charge of being found without lawful excuse on premises at 324 Oxford terrace. He was convicted, fined £2, and ordered to pay restitution of £2 ss. THEFT AS A SERVANT Ernest James Blair, an unemployed driver (Mr S. G. Erber), pleaded guilty to a charge that on November 25 while employed by Canterbury Frozen Meat Sales, Ltd., he stole from the company meat of a total value of £5 2s. He was convicted and fined £3O.

Detective Sergeant Porteous said that after a complaint from the company the police followed Blair, who was employed as a driver, when he left work. When Blair parked in the yard of a hotel the police approached him and he was found to be in possession of a 91 b pressed ham and other meats. FAILURE TO ACCOUNT

John Fraser, aged 48, a clerk (Mr M. J. Glue), was convicted and remanded on bail to December 8 for sentence, on a charge that between June 8 and October 11, at Christchurch, he had received the sum of £137 6s 9d from J. A. A. Roberts and others on terms requiring him to account for or pay the same to Supreme Industries, Ltd., and fraudulently converted to his own use the amount.

Fraser pleaded guilty. “During April, 1966, the defendant was made solely responsible for wages at his place of employment,” said Detective Sergeant Porteous. “The auditors found a cash receipt book was missing. The defendant denies having any knowledge of the whereabouts of the missing receipt book.” FINED £ll John Morgan Hokianga, aged 21, a workman, was fined £ll on charges of procuring liquor while under a prohibition order and being found drunk in a public place, a hotel bar, on November 30. Hokianga pleaded guilty to both charges and was fined £lO on the first and £1 on the second. DRUNK Walter Cook, aged 45, a council workman, pleaded guilty to a charge of being drunk in Grove road on November 30. He also admitted one previous conviction within the last six months for a similar offence. He was fined £3, in default four days imprisonment. REMANDED Trevor Christopher Reekie, aged 30, a painter, appeared on a charge that on November 30 he assaulted Detective Donald Norman Stewart. Mr R. G. Blunt appeared for Reekie. Reekie was also charged with resisting Detective Stewart in the execution of his duty and with wilfully damaging a suit, shirt and tie, of a total value of £2B 5s belonging to Detective Stewart, a shirt valued at £1 3s the property of the New Zealand Police Department, and a typewriter to the value of £5. On all charges Reekie was remanded on bail till December 8.

Detective Sergeant Porteous. in opposing bail, said that the four charges Reekie faced all arose from the one incident. Detective Stewart was at present in Burwood Hospital suffering from a broken nose and other injuries. Mr Blunt in applying for bail said that it could be understood why the police were upset, but the offence was not of a type that was likely to recur if the defendant was released. It was not like burglary. The fact that there had been an alleged assault on a police officer was not sufficient grounds to deny Reekie bail.

Trevor Joseph Flanagan, aged 19. a panel beater, appeared on charges that on October 27 he wilfully resisted Detective Trevor Owen Tozer in the execution of his duty and that he wilfully obstructed Detective Tozer in the execution of his duty. He was remanded on bail till December 15. Paul Pancho Dewes. aged 17, a woolpresser (Mr H. M. S. Dawson) and Paul Cunningham, aged 20, a carpenter (Mr M. J. Glue) were jointly charged that on November 13 with intent to avoid detection in the commission. of the crime of burglary they wounded Nina Mary Harper, and that they broke and entered a house at 492 Gloucester street. Dewes was also charged that on November 13 he broke and entered a garage at 243 Lichfield street. Each was remanded till December 8. Dewes in custody and Cunningham on bail. Charles Lennos Dewes. aged 22, a carpenter (Mr G. R. Lascelles) was remanded on bail till December 8 when he appeared on a charge of receiving from Paul Pancho Dewes, 14 salad bowls valued at £1 10s knowing them to have been dishonestly obtained. (Before Mr E. A. Lee. S.M.) CHARGE DISMISSED An 18 year-old law student. Erno Bedo (Mr M. J. Glue), was convicted and discharged under Section 42 of the Criminal Justice Act on a charge of using obscene language in a public place. Cathedral square, on October 22. Bedo pleaded not guilty. BORSTAL TRAINING Albert John Friars, aged 19, a cleaner, was sentenced to a period of Borstal training for stealing one sports bicycle, valued at £3O, the property of Peter Lynch, on November 10. MISCELLANEOUS CHARGES No radio licence: Eric Leonard Andrews. £3: Kathleen Barke, £1: Nola Bennett, £1: Reginald Wilson. 10s. Exceeded 30 miles an hour: Murray Oliver Bain, £3. Kept unregistered dog: Wilfred C. Gibson, £2.