MAGISTRATE’S COURT Six months gaol after spending nine years in prison

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32462, 24 November 1970, Page 17

MAGISTRATE’S COURT Six months gaol after spending nine years in prison

A man who had spent the previous nine years in custody was sentenced to six months imprisonment when he appeared for sentence before Mr P. L. Molineaux, S.M., in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday on a charge of burgling the Leeston premises of the New Zealand Farmers’ Co-operative Association of Canterbury, Ltd, on November 7. The accused, Patrick Wiwarena, aged 33, a workman (Mr K. N. Hampton), had pleaded guilty and been convicted.

Mr Hampton said the accused had spent nearly all his adult life in custody. He

was released on November 2 after spending nine years in custody. He had spent 11 of the last 12 years in custody. The accused had been a bad prisoner, but over the last seven years he appeared to have settled down. He had settled in well on pre-release work and had become a model prisoner. Mr Hampton said the accused knew few persons when he was finally released and this led to his coming into contact with an undesirable person. He had played only a minimal role in the offence. The Magistrate said he did not think the probation officer’s recommendation of peri-

odic detention was appropriate.

“The public are entitled to be protected from the depredations of this man,” he said. “The only appropriate sentence is one of imprisonment.” REFUSED TO WORK

A man who refused to work while in the custody of the warden of the adult periodic detention centre was convicted and remanded in custody to November 30 for sentence when he pleaded guilty to the charge. The warden at the centre (Mr W. J. Croft) said that the accused, Arthur Byron Pearce, was serving a sentence of nine months detention imposed for burglary in July. On November 21, while the accused was in custody, he refused to travel to a place of work. When told he would be arrested and charged if he persisted in this he said: “That is what I want. I need the protection of a prison cell.” SHOP THEFT “This is a simple case of takIng goods out of a shop without paying for them. The accused ought to know better,” the Magistrate said when convicting a man on a charge of stealing groceries worth $4.16 from the New Brighton I.G.A. Supa Valu Market on November 14. The accused, Brian Stewart Alexandre, aged 35, an assistant accountant, pleaded guilty. He was fined $3O. ; Sergeant W. W. Maloney said a store detective saw the accused leave the store about 12.45 p.m. on November 14 without paying for groceries he had put in the bottom of a bag. Mr J. B. Stringer, who appeared for the accused, said he intended to take the groceries to his car, where he was going to check them against a shopping list. REMANDED ‘JThey saw fit not only to break into a house but to go back a second time, taking a total of $lO4O worth of furniture and effects,” said the Magistrate before remanding two youths until November 25 for a medical report for periodic detention when they appeared for sentence on two charges of burglary. Alan Peter Carter, aged 19, a labourer (Mr L. M. O’Reilly), and Shane Edward Brett Marks, aged 21, a labourer (Mr D. H. Hicks), appeared for sentence on joint charges of burglary. Mr O’Reilly said that the suggestion to take goods was made by a third person and it would seem that others had had a share of the goods. The first articles taken had fetched less than $4O from a second-hand dealer.

Mr Hicks said that Marks had gone back the second time solely to get a mirror that was missing from an item of furniture. He had met a relative of Carter in a hotel who had suggested the burglary. ASSAULT

John William Robinson, aged 23, an upholsterer (Mr D. H. Palmer), who punched a policeman in the eye after a police car had crossed over a pedestrian crossing he was on, was fined $4O on a charge of assault. He pleaded guilty.

offence in Hereford Street on November 20, said Sergeant Maloney. An unmarked police car stopped after a large group of people was seen blocking traffic and yelling. Some members of the group approached the car and the accused came to the car window and punched the complainant in the right eye. Counsel said that his client, an Aucklander, was on a pedestrian crossing when the police car came round the corner and he thought the people in it were looking for trouble as cars did not come round intersections in Auckland when people were on the crossings. His client did not know he was dealing with police officers.

EIGHTH CONVICTION A man appearing for sentence on his seventh and eighth convictions for driving while disqualified was remanded on bail until tomorrow for a medical examination for periodic detention. He is Henry Matthew Huntley, aged 30, a fisherman. Mr D. M. Palmer, who appeared for the accused, said that the accused did not expect any penalty short of imprisonment. “In these two cases, however, there were abnormal pressures on him.” GOT INTO TRUCK

Four young men from an overseas vessel who unlawfully got into a truck worth $4OOO at Lyttelton on November 19 were each convicted and fined $4O and ordered to pay restitution of $39.04. They pleaded guilty. The accused, Maurice Desmond Kelliher, aged 19, a cadet offi-

cer, Harold Brower, aged 21, a ship’s engineer, Eric Summerscales, aged 19, a ship’s steward, and Anthony George Ware, aged 20, an engineer’s deck hand, were represented by Mr M. J. Glue.

Sergeant Maloney said a police patrol saw the truck being driven along Gladstone Quay about 10.30 p.m. As the patrol car approached the truck stopped and a large number of youths jumped out and ran off. The four accused were arrested, but the driver was not found.

The truck had been parked in a yard where it was under repair. The driving of it in Gladstone Quay caused damage amounting to $133, and further expense was incurred for breakdown services. Mr Glue said the incident was a very expensive jaunt for the accused. It was nothing more than a prank. ASSAULT Neil Michael Aitken, aged 19, a freezing worker (Mr M. J. Glue), pleaded guilty to a charge of assault and a charge of drinking intoxicating liquor in a taxi. The incident occurred in Domain Terrace on September 10, said Sergeant Maloney. The accused, who had moved into the front seat of the taxi, was told not to drink and was then told to get out of the taxi. He threw the partly-filled bottle of beer on to the driver’s lap and the contents spilled over his trousers. The accused said the taxi stopped suddenly and beer was SP Mr Glue said that the accused had been drinking heavily. The taxi-driver had braked suddenly, causing the beer bottle to hit his client’s teeth, and the beer had been poured over the driver’s shoulders. Aitken was fined, $3O. FINED $4O

A man who overtook another car, accused the driver of stealing petrol, and punched him in the mouth, was fined $4O on a charge of assault. He pleaded guilty. Phillip Robert Franklin, aged 21, a welder (Mr M. J. Glue), committed the offence on No-, vember 20 when he was upset by the complainant, said Sergeant Maloney. Mr Glue said that the accused believed the driver of the other vehicle Was responsible for the theft of some petrol and when he approached the complainant’s car, he was pushed in the chest. The accused's action was purely retaliatory.

STOLE GROCERIES A woman charged with stealing groceries valued at $1.23 from Wardells-Kincaids was convicted and fined $l5 and ordered to pay witnesses’ expenses of $6.50. Her name was suppressed. She pleaded not guilty and was represented by Mr P. G. S. Penlington. On October 6 the accused put a tin of salmon and a packet of bacon in her bag and did not pay for these items at the checkout counter, said Sergeant V. F. Townshend. The accused said she forgot to take the goods out of her bag. "It would be better if you did the shopping together in future,” said the Magistrate after the accused’s husband had given evidence about his wife’s forgetfulness. OFFENSIVE BEHAVIOUR A man who urinated against the mudguard of a taxi in Moorhouse Avenue pleaded guilty to a charge of behaving in an offensive manner. The accused, Waaka Chuck Walker, aged 28, a moulder, was convicted and fined $2O on the charge of offensive behaviour. On a charge of resisting a constable on the same date, to which he also pleaded guilty, he was convicted and fined $4O. Sergeant Maloney said the taxi-driver called the police about 8.40 p.m. when he saw the accused urinate over the mudguard of his car. When the accused was arrested he became violent and resisted Constable N. T. Higginson’s attempts to get him into a police car. OBSTRUCTED CONSTABLE On a charge of obstructing Constable Neville Thomas Higginson on November 21, Eric William Kora, aged 22, a rubber worker, was convicted and fined $3O. He pleaded guilty. Sergeant Maloney said that when the constable arrested a man outside the Christchurch Railway Station about 9 a.m. on November 21 the accused tried to pull the constable away from him. The accused told the police the person arrested was his friend. WILFUL DAMAGE James George King, aged 20, a glass cutter (Mr J. M. Wilson), was convicted and fined $l4 and ordered to pay restitution of $4 when he pleaded guilty to a charge of wilfully damaging a telephone booth window on October 31. Mr Wilson said the accused had been drinking in a hotel where his wallet had been stolen from his coat pocket. He punched the booth window in a fit of pique because of this. FIGHTING Lamesi Silao, aged 33, a freezing worker, pleaded guilty to a charge of fighting in Peterborough Street on November 22. He was convicted and fined $2O. $lOO FINE David John Smith, aged 18 (Mr G. R. Lascelles), was fined $lOO, released on probation for one year and disqualified for one year, for driving whilst disqualified. The disqualification period is to be cumulative with the present term. OBSCENE LANGUAGE On a charge of using obscene language in Hereford Street on November 22, Steven Peters, aged 21, a labourer, was convicted and fined $35. He pleaded guilty. TRAFFIC OFFENCES In police traffic prosecutions convictions were entered and fines imposed as follows, with costs of $5 in each case:— Failed to give way at sign: Selwyn James Carson, $25. Failed to give way: Ventris Shirley Williscroft, $25. (Before Mr E. S. J. Crutchley, S.M.) SENT TO BORSTAL Darryl Kenneth Williams, aged 17, an unemployed poultry worker, was sentenced to Borstal training when he appeared for sentence on charges of behaving in an idle and disorderly manner and unlawfully taking a bicycle. The Magistrate said that Williams had to accept some sort of standards and live up to them. The only appropriate thing in his case was Borstal, which would be imposed mainly

to satisfy Williams’s need for training than as a punishment. ASSAULT Bulaga Flso, aged 23, a Western Samoan shoemaker (Mr B. A. Hunt), was convicted and fined $5O when he pleaded not guilty to a charge of assaulting Laurence David Williams on June 17. BURGLED WAREHOUSE Trevor Keith Taylor, aged 21, a driver (Mr M. J. Glue), was convicted and released on probation for 12 months when he pleaded not guilty to a charge of burgling the warehouse of Mating and Company between September 18 and 21. Reginald Francis Ford, the company’s warehouse foreman, said that the premises were secured at 4.30 p.m. on Friday, September 18, and when he returned on Monday a window had been removed. He later found that four dozen bottles of altar wine were missing. Detective J. P. Whiting said that on October 2 he executed a search warrant at an address and took possession of 20 bottles of altar wine. When interviewed on October 6 Taylor admitted that he and two others had taken the altar wine one night, said Detective Whiting. Taylor also said that he acted as a look-out. Taylor denied making these statements to Detective Whiting and said that at the time of the burglary he was “flake” in the car. FINED $4O - Frederick Giles Elvers, aged 65, a retired farmer (Mr J. E. Ryan), was convicted and fined $4O and disqualified for six months when he pleaded not guilty to a charge of careless driving causing Injury to Royce Wayne McDonald. Mr McDonald said that he was struck by the defendant’s car when he was crossing the pedestrian crossing on the main road at Hornby on June 26. As a result of the accident, he spent one week in hospital with an injured back, he said.

(Before Mr B. O. Nicholson, S.M.) DANGEROUS DRIVING Maurice Carl O’Reilly, aged 21, a driver (Air B. A, Hunt), was convicted and fined $lOO and disqualified for two years when he pleaded not guilty to a charge of driving dangerously in Cathedral Square. Traffic Officer Bartlett said that he saw O’Reilly’s car ap> proaching the pedestrian crossing outside the Chief Post Office at 25 to 30 miles an hour, a speed which he considered too fast. The car, which was in the left-hand lane, then slid sideways, leaving scuff mafks, before straightening up and accelerating out of the Square. There were pedestrians and stationary cars nearby when the incident occurred, he said. O’Reilly said that the officer must have mistaken his car for another. DROVE CARELESSLY Raymond Felix Graham, aged 43, a pump attendant, was convicted and fined $2O when he pleaded not guilty to a charge of careless driving on May 15. TRAFFIC OFFENCES In traffic prosecutions brought by the Ministry of Transport, fines imposed as follows, with Court costs of $5 on each charge: Failed to comply with traffic lights: Melvyn Crossen, $3O. No rear light on goods-service vehicle: John Barry sl2. (Before Mr K. H. J. Headife'n* S.M.) TRAFFIC OFFENCES In Ministry of Transport traffic prosecutions convictions were entered and fines imposed as follows, with costs of $5 in each case: Exceeded 30 miles an hour: William Tinnis Anderson, $10; Gary Arthur Baxter, $25; John Arthur Brown, $3O; Roger William Campbell, $2O; Warren William Ellis, $25; Brian Arthur Gibson, $10; Francis Urquhart Gunn, .$l2; John Morris Guthry, $3O (no L sign, $10); Stephen Ormond Harris, $2O; John Hay, $10; Leonard Gavin Kirton, $10; James Hugh Lowe, $2O; Wayne Joseph McCreanor, $l5; John Edward Page, $l2; Albert Edwin Garry Payne, $25; Toni Agnes Roberts, $l2; Derek Charles Smith, $10; Colin Tewhata, $25; Brian Thomas Thin, $10; Wilfred Albert Weakly, $lO. Failed to stop at stop sign: Percy Albert Caithness, $l5; John Ronald Churchill, $l5; Rita May Cuff, $l2; Douglas John Jeffrey Davis, $10; Roger George Drylie, $l5; Pamela Jean Heinz, $l2; Gladys Ethel Issac, $10; Erna Kral, $l2; Trevor Jack Laby, $l5 (no driver’s licence, $10); Stanly Oakly, $10; James Andrew Patterson, $10; Edward William Sagar, $10; Brian Douglas Quin, $l5. Failed to comply with traffic lights: Herbert Wilfred Autman, $2O; Paul Anthony Burrough, $l5, disqualified for one month; John Harris, $2O; Theodore Lambert Janssen, $2O; Leslie Keith Jones, $2O; Noel Barry Lancaster, $2O, disqualified for one month; lan McGregor Murray, $l5, disqualified for three months; Anthony Keith Park, $2O; Charles Andrew Smith, $l5, disqualified for three months; Eric Gordon Smith, $l5, disqualified for one month; Kenneth Douglas Stevenson, $25; George Tikao, $2O, disqualified for one month; Dennis Daniel Watson, $2O, disqualified for three months, Insufficient lights: John Herbert Claridge, $lO (failed to produce licence, costs only); Kevin Edward Peter Sharman, $10; James Arthur Williamson, $lO. Insufficient tyre tread: Paul James Warren, $lO. Unsafe vehicle: Brian Vernon Box, $2O. No red rear light: Desmond Brake, $2O. Trailer not safely secured: David Cyril Bunn, $B.

Speed too great to stop in half clear road ahead: Malcolm Gordon Cameron, $2O. Failed to display L sign: Theresa Ewart, $10; Robin Bernard Moutford, $10; Paul John Sampson, $8; George Francis Williams, $lO. Failed to give way to right: Syvlia Holgate, $l5; Paul Underwood Churcher Kellow, $2O; Janice Adell Kerr, $2O. Unlicensed trailer: Olivia Anne Grose, $B. Obstructed traffic officer: Peter Noel Lee, $2O (no driver’s licence, $10; disqualified for six months). Rode motor-cycle on footpath: Bruce Alexander McMillan, $25. Failed to yield right of way to pedestrian: Stephen Joseph Smith, $2O, disqualified for three months; Grant Roy Stace, $2O, disqualified for three months. Inconsiderate use: Allan Neale Westell, $l5. Failed to give way when turning right: June Ethel Ritchie, $lO. Careless use: David William Swarbrick, $lO, disqualified for three months.