MAGISTRATE'S COURT Confidence man gaoled for three years

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32554, 13 March 1971, Page 9

MAGISTRATE'S COURT Confidence man gaoled for three years

A man who in committing offences described himself as a Samoan prince and the son of the Samoan ambassador to Australia was sentenced to imprisonment for a total of

three years when he appeared for sentence before Mr K. H. J. Headifen, S.M.,

in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday. John Jordan William Cross, aged 31 (Mr D. J. Hewitt), was appearing for sentence on seven charges of theft, three charges of false pretences, one charge of unlawful conversion of a rental car, one charge of credit by fraud and a charge of bringing stolen property into New Zealand.

The offences were committed in Auckland, Hamilton, Te Awamutu, Kawakawa, Wellington and Christchurch and involved goods valued at $7711.

“There is nothing that can be really done for you,” the Magistrate said to Cross. “You have had many psychological examinations over the years. There are indications that property has been stolen overseas and you visited Australia several times and promptly came back to New Zealand. In Canberra you passed yourself off as a diplomatic official. “This indicates a deliberate action to live in a world of fantasy,” said the Magistrate. “You have been sentenced to prison by the Supreme Court for two years and also to three years for escaping. Most of your activities have been in the North Island, but there has been extensive activity in the South Island as well.

“My duty is to consider the public who have suffered severely from you with thefts of radios, wallets, suits and clothing. Hotels have been defrauded and cars have been stolen, all over a period of but a few months. You richly deserve this sentence.” Mr Hewitt said that Cross had offended over a period of 15 or 16 years. This was adtributed to his being in prison and associating with very many types of person. He had homosexual tendencies. He had been in and out of prison without its having any good effect on him and had been given every sort of punishment except detentioncentre training.

DETENTION CENTRE It is only with considerable reluctance that I am not imposing Borstal training,” said the Magistrate before sentencing Murray Graham Dick, aged 17 a workman (Mr C. A. McVeigh), to detention-centre training. Dick was also disqualified for another year and a half. Dick was appearing for sente "ce on two charges of driving u ? disqualified, one charge of theft of an outboard motor, valued at $2400 and two charges of failing to report to the penodic-detention centre. DEFERRED SENTENCE Graham Desmond Johnstone, aged 29, a gas serviceman (Mr D. M. Palmer), was ordered to come up for sentence if called upon within one year when he! appeared for sentence on a 1 charge of burglary. Mr Palmer said that Johnstone had not forced the door at All Metal Products, Ltd. He had been at a hotel and then gone to the premises to see some people he had worked with. The stolen metal had been cut up and sold and was therefore not recoverable at its original value. The Magistrate said that the defendant had made full restitution and since 1955 had had a clear record after a bad start (Before Mr W. F. Brown. S.M.) ASSAULTED POLICE On charges of assaulting and resisting Constable Anthony John Duncan at Lyttelton on February 14, Kenneth Tyson, aged 38, a seaman (Mr O. T. Alpers), was convicted and remanded on bail to March 18 for sentence. He pleaded guilty. Tyson was directed to undergo a medical examination for a sentence of work-centre training. He pleaded not guilty to charges of threatening to kill his wife, Gwenneth Nell Tyson, and assaulting her on the same date. Mrs Tyson declined to give evidence and the charges were dismissed when the police offered no more evidence.

Sergeant V. F. Townshend said the police were called to a serious domestic dispute in Lyttelton at 12.38 p.m. on February 14. As a result of a complaint Tyson was arrested. When Tyson was being taken in the police car he struggled violently and assaulted the constable. He had to be restrained by other constables and handcuffed. PILFERED FREIGHT A young man who pleaded guilty* to a charge of stealing six transistor radios from freight he was delivering as a part-time driver was convicted and remanded on bail to March 19 for sentence. His name was suppressed. He was represented by Mr J. A. Callaghan. Sergeant O. A. Hume said that the defendant took the raiUos from a broken carton inthe freight. They were worth $112.26.

TOOK CAR On a charge of unlawfully taking a car from the Christchurch Hospital Nurses* Home car park on March 11, George Patrick Shannon, aged 32, a dnver. was convicted and remanded in custody to March 19 for sentence. He pleaded guilty. Sergeant Huine said that a traffic officer stopped a car being driven by Shannon at an excessive speed in Avenue at 11.10 p.m. on March 11. While the officer was uniting out a traffic offence notice ne saw that a door catch had been broken and wiring under the dashboard interfered with, ine officer called the police and Shannon admitted having taken the car from the nurses home car park about half an hour earlier. FOUR CHARGES Two men who unlawfully too* four cars on March 4 and March 5 and admitted taking several others, were remanded in custody until March 19 for sentence. Rangi Reeves, aged 20, a foundry worker, and Peter Claude Tairua, aged 23, a foundry labourer, pleaded guilty to four charges of unlawfully taking cars valued at a total of $1650. Sergeant Hume said that a police patrol apprehended the defendants in the Beckenham area at 12.50 a.m. on March 5. One car had crashed into a pole In Opawa Road, another had lost a wheel in Dyers Road and another was a total write-off. BURGLARY ADMITTED

The defendant failed to report to the police at Auckland while on bail on a charge of burglary, and burgled a house in Moncks Spur Road, stealing goods and cash to a total of $709, said Sergeant Hume. i The defendant. Rex Douglas Turner, aged 23. a barmanporter (Mr E. T. Turbott), plea-

ded guilty to a charge of burglary and failing to report on bail. He was remanded in custody until March 16. > Sergeant Hume said that Turner and five friends drove round J Christchurch and Sumner on i January 3 and decided to see a ; relation of one friend. They , knew where the door keys were ' hidden and Turner and two others > took a radiogram, jewellery and • cash. When the owner of the house returned they drove off at speed and hid the car in ’ Humphreys Drive. They then , took another car and kept the > stolen property at various flats. It had not been recovered. When interviewed by the police, Turner at first denied the charge of burglary, but later said he had sold the radiogram at I Wellington for $2O. FORGED CHEQUES When the defendant visited Rolleston Prison with some friends, he took cheque* from a cheque-book that was in the pocket of a jacket in a parked car, said Sergeant Hume. Before the Court was Brian William Giles, aged 39, a foreman pipe-fitter (Mr M. J. Glue), who pleaded guilty to three charges of forgery and was remanded until March 19 for sentence. The cheques were forged on January 15 and January 18, when Giles presented a stolen cheque for $2O at the Ferrymead Tavern Hotel and received liquor and change. Two other cheques for $2O were also signed by Giles in the name of the owner of the cheque-book and endorsed with a fictitious name and address, said Sergeant Hume. FOUND IN YARD Stephen Michael Donoghue, aged 28, a carpenter, pleaded guilty to a charge of being found , without lawful excuse in the; yard of Hayes Garage, Ltd, on February 12. He was convicted and remanded on bail to March 19 for sentence. TOOK TRAILER Allen Richard Swanson, aged 25, a furnaceman (Mr W. C. C. M. Janus), pleaded guilty to taking a trailer valued at $l5O from outside a garage and was remanded until March 19 for sentence. Sergeant Hume said that the defendant’s car was being driven erratically in Wainoni Road at 1.15 a.m. on March 12 and was stopped by a police patrot The defendant said that the trailer he was towing belonged to him, but at the police station said that he had stolen it. PEEPING TOM A man, whose name was suppressed for medical reasons, I pleaded guilty to a charge of peering into a window without lawful excuse on February 19. He was remanded until March 19 for sentence. Sergeant Hume said that the man was seen peeping into a window at 12.25 a.idr with his shoes in his hand. When he was arrested he said that he had a headache and had gone to the house to get an aspirin tablet and a glass of water. MISCELLANEOUS OFFENCES In miscellaneous police prosecutions, convictions were entered and fines imposed as follows, with costs of $5 in each case: Failed to stop at sign: Ross Bonnington, $l5, disqualified for three months. Drove carelessly: Koromika Michael Williams, $35. Exceeded 30 miles an hour: John David Tweedie, $lO. Found in bar while under age: Garry Raymond Arnesen, $10; David Colin Body, $10; Geoffrey Geoland Carter, $10; Graham William Henry, $10; James William Lyver, $10; Thomas George Pow, $10; Mark Brook Shepherd, $10; Robert John Watson, $lO. Owned dog which attacked person: Mary Alice Wilson, $l2 (owned unregistered dog, $4). (Before Mr J. D. Kinder, S.M.) CHARGE DISMISSED A charge of refusing to give a blood sample, brought against Jeffrey William Johnston, aged 38, a manager (Mr J. R. Milligan), was dismissed. “All the prosecution says is that the defendant drove in a mildly erratic way,” said Mr Milligan. “There is no evidence that the defendant committed an offence by driving either under the influence of drink or a drug, or with an excessive alcohol concentration.” Mr Milligan said that as the prosecution had not properly identified the device used to administer the breath test and as the defendant had not failed to give a breath test, there was no case to answer. “Although you didn’t cross the centre line on the road, you failed to keep as far left as practicable,” said the Magistrate when fining Johnston $lO, with costs, for failing to keep to the left FINED $l6 Steven Norman Biggins, a car wrecker, pleaded not guilty to charges of owning a vehicle that was not up to warrant-of-fitness standard and that had a tyre tread of less than l/16in. He was convicted and fined $lO on the first charge and $6 on the second.

Biggins denied that he was the owner of the vehicle.

STOP SIGN OFFENCE Dennis Patrick Rea, a painter, aged 21, was fined $6 after he had pleaded not guilty to a charge of failing to stop at a stop sign. (Before Mr H. J. Evans, S.M.)

FINED $125 Michael William O’Donnell. - aged 18, a clerk, was convicted of driving in Manchester Street - with an excessive amount of I alcohol in his blood. i O’Donnell (Mr M. P. Boyce) i was fined $125 and disqualified i for 18 months. He pleaded not s guilty. ’ (Before Mr E. S. J. Crutchley, [ S.M.) REMAND , A man, whose name was supt pressed, was remanded on ball > until March 26 at the conclusion ' of the hearing of an application for a provisional warrant for > his arrest in connection with ; the alleged theft of a car in j Western Australia in 1969. The hearing was a special sitting of the Court held in the defendant’s home because of his 111 health. He was suffering I from the effects of head injuries j resulting from a motor accident i in 1956, and remained in bed ! during the hearing. I Detective Sergeant B. C. Wilcox, of the Criminal Investigai tion Bureau, Perth, said in evidence that a warrant for the » defendant’s arrest was issued in i Perth in July. He went to the defendant's house in Christchurch and told him he intended to apply for his arrest and to escort him to Perth to face trial on the charge. The defendant said in evidence that he was not guilty of the offence. He said he was supposed to have had the payment for the car concerned deducted from commission he earned while working for the complainant firm, which supplied the car. He said he sold the car for about $1650 after being dismissed by the firm in 1969. No order was made to put the defendant into the custody of Mr Wilcox. He will be admitted to hospital today.