MAGISTRATE'S COURT Increased sentence for prison escaper

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33155, 20 February 1973, Page 15

MAGISTRATE'S COURT Increased sentence for prison escaper

“No matter how much the Court might sympathise with you, it must think of the public," Mr W. F. Brown, S.M., said in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday when sen-1 tencing Stephen Charles 1 Goddard, aged 22. a prison inmate to a further five, months imprisonment. Goddard had previously pleaded; guilty to escaping from Paparua Prison on Januarv 20.

The Court was told that Goddard and two other prisoners were recaptured after! they escaped from the prison, kitchen block at 9 p.m. on January 20. Goddard was; found in a house in Hoon; Hay, wearing a wig. Mr R. F. B. Perry, appearing as duty solicitor, said! Goddard escaped from prison; in the hope of getting closer; to his foster family near Auckland. “He hoped, that from this escape, he would be transferred to a prison in the! Auckland vicinity.” Goddard had been sen-: fenced in November, 1972, in! the Supreme Court, to five; years imprisonment on a charge of aggravated robbery.

WILFUL DAMAGE Pierre John Tauwhare, aged », a truck driver iMr J. 31. XV ilson), pleaded guilty to a charge of wilfully damaging two windows valued at $8 and one door valued at SlO. He was convicted and fined $3O.

Detective Sergeant R. J. Miller said the incident happened! after a domestic dispute. The' defendant’s de facto wife went) to an address to hide. Later,' "hen Tauwhare found out where: she was he demanded to see her. but was refused. In an effort to gain entry into the house he smashed two windows! and then kicked the door open.; He was later arrested at hisi home. FALSE PRETENCE Eric Donald Bruce Kerr, aged 29. unemployed (Mr R. S. D. Twyneham), pleaded guilty to a charge of false pretence. He was convicted and remanded on bail to February 27 for sentence. Detective Sergeant Miller said : that Kerr went to Bishop and i Company, Ltd. where he obtained' a case of whisky valued at $68.40 bv using a cheque from a book stolen earlv the same morning! from a car. The defendant ordered the! case to be delivered but later i returned and asked to pick it up By then the cheaue had been 1 found to bo valueless. Kerr admitted signing the cheque but: /Jen»ed the theft of the cheque' book. EXCESSIVE ALCOHOL George Edward McLintock. aged 29. a storeman. was fined, $lOO and disqualified from driv-{ ing for nine months after plead-, ing guilty to driving with an excessive blood alcohol level. Sergeant C. T. Dalzell said that I McLintock was the driver of a car which crashed into a power! pole in Wales Street on De-' cember 31. An analysis of his; blood showed 176 mg of alcohol • per 100 ml of blood. FALSE PRETENCE Full restitution of $118.99 was. requested by the police when Suzannah Hargreaves, aged 21.. an unemployed telex operator rMr H. J. Kennedy), appeared on five charges involving false pretence Hargreaves pleaded guilty and was remanded on bail to Febru>rv 27 for sentence. * The offences were committed between October 13 and Januarv 22: Detective Sergeant Miller said that when interviewed the de- 1 fendant told the police that she had signed valueless cheoues to the monev because she; had been unable to work. THEFT CHARGES • A woman whose name was suppressed (Mr G. R. Lascelles), was remanded on bail to February 27 for sentence after pleading guilty to 12 charges of theft in-! solving propertv worth more; than $BO. Detective Sergeant Miller said I that the woman was appre-' bended in Beresford Street. Nev Brighton, on November 24 onl> : a few yards from a supermarket w here a staff member had seen; her leave without paying for a; pair of sandshoes and a flask she; bad concealed under her cloth-! The woman's house was J searched and the other property i was found. The defendant, who! told the police she had “not J been well” at the time the; offences were committed, was; most helpful in the recovery of: the property, Detective Sergeant! Miller said. She told the police she had been shop-lifting since 1971. The Magistrate suppressed the womans name after reading a medical report produced by Mr Lascelles INDECENT DRAWINGS Roland Arthur Ford, aged 39, a painter (Mr P Rutledge), was remanded on bail to February 27 for sentence after pleading guilty to leaving an indeceni document on the premises of Ricca rton High School. The prosecution was brought under the Indecent Publications Detective Sergeant Miller said that Ford threw a bundle of i papers containing indecent drawings over the fence of the school, t Mr Rutledge asked for Ford’s| name to be suppressed. He said the defendant had a history of psvehiatric treatment. Refusing to grant suppression of name, the Magistrate said that; Ford had previous convictions.! including one of indecent exREMANDED Anthony Stephen Costigan. • aged 26. a carpenter, was remanded on bail to February 27 on a charge of theft of 12 bales, of wool valued at $4BOO from; Dalgety’s New Zealand, Ltd. No! plea was entered. Submissions on bail were heard In chambers It was set at $500! with two sureties. (Before Mr H. J. Evans. S.M.) DECISION RESERVED After hearing evidence on a charge of possession of an unlawful weapon—a 6 35mm. automatic pistol—the Magistrate reserved his decision until FebruThe defendant, Bruce Allan Morris, aged 27, a company d 'ector -Mr I J. D Hall), had

pleaded not guilty. He was re-1 manded on bad.

Gwendoline Alice Marsh, a clerk at the High Street Post ! Office, said Morris sent a money order-telegram for $7O on November 2 to Mr Barry MacFarlane, of Abel Smith Street, Wellington. It was marked “Parcel there Friday,” and made payable at the Te Aro Post Office.

In evidence Margaret Thorn-; ton. a former Post Office clerk, i isaid a man handed in a flat par-; cel on the same day. It was addressed to Mr McGregor, c/o the Te Aro Post Office, Wellington. Paul Alexander MacGregor, a senior clerk at the Te Aro post office, said he was handed a par-; cel on November 3 at work.

He thought the parcel was; addressed to him so he opened it | and found a pistol, a holster, an; old sock containing ammunition! and an old handkerchief. “I thought it was a joke until 1 found tne pistol had a loaded magazine and it had the safety; catch off,” Mr MacGregor said. Detective Trevor Walter Alexander Morley said he resealed the parcel and kept observations on i the postal counters. At 12.10 p.m., Barry Mac Far-; ; lane obtained $7O at a teller’s ; counter and collected the parcel. He was approached after he left the post office. As a result of the incident, MacFarlane appeared in the Wellington Magistrate’s Court on charges of possession of an un- | lawful weapon and unlawful ammunition. He was convicted on i both charges, Detective Morley said. , Detective John Julian Dunn said Morris, at an interview on ■ November 3, admitted he sent ’ the money order telegram to MacFarlane. He said he had returned $7O he borrowed two weeks previously. When asked what was meant bv “Parcel there Friday,” Morris said he was sending MacFarlane some jerseys. When told MacFarlane had ; been arrested for possession of a j parcel sent at the same time as ■ the telegram. Morris said he I could not help that, Detective Dunn said.

In a search of Morris’s premises. part of a cardboard carton used to make the parcel was found.

When arrested. Morris denied any knowledge of the pistol which was sent to Wellington.

Mr Hall called no evidence for the defence. The prosecution evi-: dence did not prove the defend-i ant had possession of the pistol,, he submitted A vital link missing in the prosecution case was that, between the parcel mentioned in the tele-i gram and a parcel sent to a Mr. McGregor, Mr Hall said. THEFT CHARGE A man. who sold furniture and garden implements from a house lie rented, was convicted on a charge of iheft and remanded on bail to February 27 for a probation officer's report and sentence. The man. Reginald John Hills, aged 42. unemployed (Mr R. B. ; Leete) had pleaded not guilty to theft of property valued at $116.50. The complainant. Noel John | Toomey, a fitter, said his | mother’s property, at 49 Sullivan Avenue, was let to Hills and his; wife last year. I He told Hills to look after the I property to the best of his! ability. Mr Toomey said. How-| : ever, quite a lot of property, including a carpet which was l , ; a family heirloom, had gone missing. Robert Peter William Gray, a ■ second-hand dealer, said he went to the house occupied by Hills with a man named Des Egan. He took possession of several articles and gave Hills or Egan a cheque for $7O. In evidence. Hills said he was told by Toomey when he moved into the house to "put the axe through” anything he did not want on the property, with the exception of an antique table. Most of the furniture was not in good condition. Hills said. The money was spent by Egan and himself at a hotel. Eunice Daphne Hills, the defendant's wife, said Toomey had said they could have the “odd pieces of furniture round the house” or they could "put the axe through it.” The Magistrate said he must reject the defence put forward.

"I find it incredible after hearing evidence of how the sale reached the considerable sum of $7O that Mr Toomey would have made a present of this sum to him.”