MAGISTRATE'S COURT Two Young Men Charged After Defacing Hostel

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31753, 9 August 1968, Page 7

MAGISTRATE'S COURT Two Young Men Charged After Defacing Hostel

Two young men who painted slogans on the doors and windows of Rosary House, 15 Dublin Street, in the early hours of yesterday morning, pleaded guilty to charges of being rogues and vagabonds and painting the property when they appeared before Mr W. F. Brown, S.M., in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday. The defendants, whose names were suppressed, were represented by Mr G. T. Mahon.

On the charge of being rogues and vagabonds the defendants were discharged from custody, and the charges were adjourned to August 15 with a view to discharge under Section 42 of the Criminal Justice Act subject to the payment of $2O towards the cost of prosecution and their completely removing the paint The other charges were adjourned to the same date.

At 3.15 a.m. two persons were seen creeping about Rosary House, a girls’ hostel, said Sergeant V. F. Townshend. The police were called and the defendants were found hiding on a fire escape on the first floor. They quickly climbed down and made off through a small gate. The police and a dog soon apprenended them.

The defendants had been engaged in painting slogans on the doers and windows of the hostel with pink plasticbased paint, said Sergeant Townshend. A pair of large wooden doors had been adorned with a skull and crossbones 3ft high. The offence was in the nature of a students’ prank which was out of season, said Mr Mahon. The defendants had been at a party where there had been some girls from Rosary House, and these girls had said that there were not many of the “old-type” raids that there used to be on hostels.

“The slogans, words such as ’Hello,' and ‘Yes, yes,’ ” had been painted to prove that they had been there, said Mr Mahon. When the defendants saw a torch being shone they thought occupants of the building were looking for them so they made off. They were horrified when they realised they were being chased by police constables and a dog. They admitted they went too far with the offence.

The public Interest far outweighed submissions that the incident had been a “student prank,” said Sergeant Townshend. The defendants knew full well there would be no men on the premises, and it must have been a terrifying experience for the occupants. People were getting tired of the activities of students. “There is some merit in the prosecution’s suggestion that the public is being rather long-suffering with this kind of activity by students,” said the Magistrate. “I think the time has come when sudents will have to realise that a minimum standard of behaviour is expected.” POSSESSED NARCOTIC Appearing for sentence on

a charge of possessing a narcotic, pethidine, on May 17, a man whose name was suppressed (Mr J. R. Milligan) was fined $2O. The maximum penalty for the offence was $2OO or three months imprisonment, said the Magistrate, but the sentence he imposed would indicate the Court’s opinion of the seriousness of the offence. It was clear from the probation officer’s report that the defendant was competent, reliable and responsible, and that there was no sinister reason for his having the pethidine, although he knew he had no authority to carry it and he knew w’hat the consequences would be if found with it CONCURRENT SENTENCE Gary Raymond Markwick, aged 29, a painter, was sentenced to three months imprisonment, to be served concurrently with his present 15-month term of imprisonment, when he appeared for sentence on a charge that on May 5 he stole a radio worth $3O, the property of P. Gable. The Magistrate said Markwick had sold a radio he had borrowed from the landlady where he was boarding. The obvious sentence was imprisonment but on May 22, 1968, he was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment for theft. The present offence occurred on the same day as the offence for which he had already been sentenced. If that Magistrate had known of the offence he would probably have imposed the same sentence. PROBATION John Tamatea Thompson, aged 36, a labourer, was fined $BO and placed on probation for one year when he appeared for sen tence on a charge that on March 17 he stole a wristlet watch worth $5O, the property of R. C. Swift. The Magistrate said Thompson had been at a party where a lot of liquor was drunk. Some tricks were performed and Thompson then played one trick which was mean and dishonest which resulted in somebody losing a watch. When asked to return the watch Thompson had left before doing so. RECEIVED CIGARETTES Brian Alan Colville, aged 17, unemployed, and John Patrick Cummings, aged 21, a lineman, were each convicted and remanded on bail to August 15 for sentence on a charge that on or about August 4 they received cigarettes worth $1.30 from M. D. Butler knowing them to have been stolen. They pleaded guilty. The Coffee Pot restaurant was broken into on August 4 and cigarettes and frozen food were stolen, said Sergeant Townshend. Some of the stolen cigarettes were found at a house in Winton Street. When interviewed the defendants said they and Butler were at a party together and Butler gave them some cigarettes which they knew were stolen. INSULTING WORDS Charged with using insulting words in a store on July 11, Ralph James Murray, aged 21, a driver, was convicted and fined $3O. He pleaded guilty. Murray used the words complained of when the store manager ordered him and his two companions to leave the store because of an earlier incident, said Sergeant Townshend. SUSPENDED SENTENCE On a charge of using offensive language over a telephone on August 8, Alexander Currie Ritchie, aged 63, a retired railway worker (Mr R. J. de Goldi), was convicted and ordered to appear for sentence if called on within six months. A charge of threatening to kilt his wife, Marie Ritchie, on the same date, was dismissed. Ritchie pleaded not guilty to this charge. The Magistrate said it had not been established beyound doubt that there had been a real threat to kill.

STOLE POWDER COMPACT An elderly woman, whose name was suppressed (Mr M. J. Glue), charged with theft of a powder compact worth $1.20 on July 18, was discharged without conviction under Section 42 of the Criminal Justice Act. She pleaded guilty. Mr Glue said the defendant had never been ih trouble before. For the last four years she had suffered from a variety of ailments, and her doctor had said that because of a heart condition she might not have been fully aware of what she was doing. Because of her health it had been decided not to defend the case.

The Magistrate said that a doctor’s certificate indicated that the woman showed signs of senility and that it would not be right to enter a conviction.

STOLE FROM BOTTLES Charged with stealing 13 cents from a milk bottle in Tonbridge Street on August 8, Lewis William Richardson, aged 29. an unemployed freezing worker, was convicted and fined $l5. He pleaded guilty. At 1.50 a.m., Richardson was seen walking into gateways in Tonbridge Street, and interfering with milk botties, said Sergeant Townshend. When he realised he was being watched he ran off, but was later found near the Carlton Mill bridge. H e said he had been running to keep warm, and that he had dropped his cigarette and had been looking for it. NAME SUPPRESSED A girl, whose name was suppressed, was placed on probation for 12 months when she appeared for sentence on a charge that on July 12 she stole a torch battery and a bottle of eye liner worth a total of 65c. FINED $l5 On a charge of owning a dog which attacked a person in Bryndwr Road on July 13, Brian Francis Johns, aged 22. a workman, was convicted and fined $l5. He pleaded guilty. TRAFFIC CASES In traffic cases brought by the police, convictions were entered and fines imposed as follows, with costs $5 in each case: Failed to give way: Robert Colin Adams, $2O and disqualified for two months as from August 22: Russell Robertson. $25: Harold James Edmond, $l5 and disqualified for one month as from August 12. Proceeded from stop sign before way was clear: Peter John Webby, $l5. Opened car door in mannet likely to cause injury: Lillian Good. $2O. Careless use: Nolene Wilda Candy, $2O. Failed to stop at sign: Patrick Joseph Higgins. $2O. Failed to give way to pedestrian on light-controlled crossing: Edward Richard Collins, $l5. LICENSING OFFENCES Minor found in bar: Anthony John Hunt, $6. Supplied liquor to a minor: William Leslie Presley, $6. (Before Mr E. S. J. Crutchley, S.M.) FINES REVIEWED The Court had again looked at the penalties relating to the discharge of oil from ships into harbours, the Magistrate said. Penalties imposed in Christchurch had been nominal in comparison with those imposed elsewhere and in future offences would be visited with a substantial penalty. Leo Rasmussen, master of the Magga Dan, from which oil was discharged in Lyttelton Harbour on July 8. was fined $2OO. The Lyttelton Harbout Board (Mr J. R. Milligan) brought the prosecution. Rasmussen, through his counsel (Mr J. E. Butler) pleaded guilty to the charge. Mr Milligan said a heavy deSosit of oil resulted in the harour from pumping operations on board the ship. The discharge cost $225 to clear. No order was sought for that amount as the company had undertaken to pay that cost. The present charge was Rasmussen’s first offence but the ship had offended previously in recent months.

The Magistrate in imposing the fine said he was not taking

into account the ship’s previous offence.

Alfred Thaddeus Banach pleaded guilty through his counsel (Mr R. L. Kerr) to a charge that on June 13 at Lyttelton he was master of the Firbank when oil was discharged from the ship. Mr Milligan said a quantity of oil, which cost $92.45 to clear, had been discharged into the harbour. The shipping company had agreed to meet the cost of clearing. Mr Kerr said a junior officer had contravened the ship's standing orders in pumping out a section of the ship while in harbour. Banach was fined $lOO. HEARING ADJOURNED Percival Frederick Bull (Mr R. L. Kerr), pleaded not guilty to a charge that at Lyttelton on April 30 being the occupier of land he failed to comply with a notice to clear blackberry and broom. At the conclusion of the evidence the Magistrate said the case was not one of deliberate evasion but he found the charge proved. He adjourned for the question of conviction and penalty to August 15 to permit Inquiries to be made to ascertain whether an agricultural contractor was available to do the clearing work. TAX CHARGES Hygrade Cleaning Company (Mr J. R. Fox), pleaded guilty to six charges that in each of the six months between October, 1967, and February, 1968, the company failed to pay tax deductions to the Inland Revenue Department. Stephen Denis Murphy (Mr Fox) pleaded guilty to six charges relating to the same six months that he aided Hygrade Cleaning Company to commit the offence of not paying tax deductions to the Inland Revenue Department. Mr R. Leete said Murphy had conducted all the company’s business with the department. The amount owing including penalty tax was $1450.37. Murphy had said he had not thought the payments had to be made at the end of the company’s financial year. Mr Fox said the offence was not one of fraudulently misleading the commissioner nor of evasion but merely a failure to pay the tax when it was due. The company was fined $3O on each charge and Murphy was fined $lO on each charge. Court costs of $5 on each charge were also ordered. The company on the first charge against it was ordered to pay solicitor’s fees of $6.30 and the company and Murphy were ordered to pay solicitor's fees of $3.15 on each of the other charges. OTHER CHARGES In other prosecutions convictions were entered and penalties imposed as follows with Court costs of $5 on each charge and solicitor’s fees of $6.30 on the first charge against an individual and $3.15 on other charges: Failed to furnish income returns: Kenneth Leslie Wickham, two charges, $4 and $4: Gerrit Jan Bonger, $10; Car Care, Ltd, $lO. Deviated from particulars of building permit: Frederick George Daubney, $5. Occupied land and failed to clear weeds: I. E. Gray, costs and solicitor’s fees. (Before Mr J. D. Kinder, S.M.) FINED $6O Ethel Florence Freeborn, aged 57, a secretary, was fined $25 on a charge of failing to stop after an accident in Fitzgerald Avenue and $35 on a charge of failing to ascertain If anyone had been injured. She was ordered to pay Court costs of $lO and her driver’s licence was cancelled for six months. She pleaded guilty to both charges and was represented by Mr D. Hicks.

DROVE WHILE DISQUALIFIED On a charge of driving while disqualified in Oxford Terrace, Richard John Samuels, aged 19, unemployed, was fined $6O and his licence was cancelled for a further year. He pleaded guilty. Mr M. G. L. Loughnan appeared for Samuels.

CARELESS DRIVING Ronald Francis McManus was fined $l5 on a charge of careless driving in Papanui Road. He pleaded guilty and was Represented by Mr D. Quigley. FINED $2O Clarence Dudley McQuillan, aged 43, a contractor (Mr J. Bisphan), pleaded not guilty to a charge that on May 2 he carelessly used a motor vehicle in Cherryburton Place and Hammersley Avenue. He was convicted and fined $2O. CHARGE DISMISSED Mervyn Graham Laby, aged 30, a mechanic (Mr B. S. McLaughlin), pleaded not guilty to a charge that on April 24 while driving on Manchester Street he failed to give way to the right at the intersection with Cashel Street. The charge was dismissed. (Before Mr K. H. J. Headifen, S.M.) FINED $lO Donald Graeme Miller was fined $lO on a charge of driving without a licence and was convicted and discharged upon payment of Court costs of $5 on a charge of driving a motor vehicle for which the ownership papers had not been changed. He was represented by Mr A. F. Wilding.

Record Claimed.—A 60-year-old barman dug up in San Jose, California, today claimed a world record of 77 days underground in a wooden box. Nearly 200 onlookers cheered Mr Mike Shannon as friends opened his “coffin”. He climbed out without aid and said, “I’m going home to get a shower.” He had received food and drink lowered through a tube into his 6ft-deep grave.—San Jose, August 4.