Theft ‘Not Intended’

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31977, 2 May 1969, Page 20

Theft ‘Not Intended’

(New Zealand Press Association)

AUCKLAND, May 1.

The hearing of two charges of sheep stealing against Michael Shane Hand, aged 27, a farmer, of Awarua, near Kaikohe, was continued in the Supreme Court at Auckland today before Mr Justice North.

Mr C. M. Nicholson appeared for the Crown; and Mr L. W. Brown, Q.C., and Mr G. F. Little appeared for Hand, who pleaded not guilty to both charges of theft.

Hand said he had two extra old sheep which were not offered for sale and would return them at his convenience. On the evening of January 23 he again rang Hand and told him the particular sheep were still missing and police were making inquries about them.

sheep from the saleyards in two loads, the first about 10.30 p.m. He returned for the second about midnight. “He said he was pretty drunk at the time and had not counted the sheep,” said Detective Crowley. About 400 sheep from a paddock at the back of Hand’s farm were mustered and 71 of the missing sheep found among them In evidence, Hand said he bought the sheep at the auction sale.

Martin Fraser Cootes, a livestock agent from Kaikohe, said he sold 30 sheep to Hand after they had been passed in from auction.

Two Loads

Barry Beale Crowley, a detective, said he went to Hand’s farm on the morning of January 25, and Hand told him he had purchased 119 sheep at the sale. Hand said he had carried

He spoke to Hand by telephone the next day and asked him if he had the correct tally, said Mr Cootes.

After going home and getting his truck he returned to Kaikohe and went to the hotel about 4 p.m. He did not have any dinner and apart frdm a quarter of an hour shopping he drank in the hotel until 10.15 p.m. Holding Pens

After leaving the hotel he went to the saleyards and went to the pens he thought his sheep were in. There was another pen there with only a few sheep in, said Hand, and he assumed that the sheep in the two reasonably full pens were his. He loaded the sheep from the two full pens into his truck and drove them to his farm, where he off-loaded them into holding pens. He did not check the numbers of the pens nor did he count the number of sheep. He had been told the tally was correct and just assumed all the sheep were there. After the police took the 71 sheep he checked on the number of sheep he had actually bought and found he was 31 short.

Until the police identified the sheep he did not know he had any sheep which were not his own and at no stage had he intended to steal any sheep.