SUPREME COURT Youth found guilty on drug charge

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

SUPREME COURT Youth found guilty on drug charge

Peter Stanley Montgomerie, aged 18, unemployed, of Auckland, was found guilty by a jury in the Supreme Court yesterday on a charge of having possession of the narcotic LSD for the purpose of supply to others at Christchurch on December 6. Mr Justice Roper remanded Montgomerie in custody to February 23 for sentence.

Mr G. K. Panckhurst appeared for the Crown and Mr J. E. Butler for Montgomerie, who pleaded not guilty. Detective Sergeant Cedric Kruger, of the Christchurch drug squad, said that on December 6, with other policemen, he searched a motel in Hereford Street. Wrapped in a shirt in a drawer, witness found a cigarette packet containing a number of blue tablets in cellophane packs. About 2.20 p.m. accused came into the motel. He gave his correct name but said that he was staying at the motel under the name of “P. Brown.” Accused said that

he had not seen the tablets s before and that he had bor-! rowed the shirt about two! weeks before but had noi used it. Asked how the tablets; came to be in the motel,; accused replied that he! thought they must have been planted there by the police. At the C. 1.8. office accused admitted using cannabis and LSD and he thought that the repeated use of LSD had caused his memory to become faulty. Accused had said that some persons did not know how to use it properly but; he used it to attain a spiritual i high where his mind was! separated from his body.’ Accused thought that the tab-! lets appeared to be a type of; LSD known as Blue Cheer. | Witness suggested to; accused that he had brought! the tablets from Auckland to; sell in Christchurch and he! had replied that he had no need of material gain or wealth. After further discussion accused admitted that the tablets were his, and said that he had bought them in Auckland for $1 to $1.25

[each. Accused could not reI member how many he had I bought but he thought he I had paid about $2OO. Accused had said that he had come to Christchurch to ! see members of a band which ; was here. Initially accused ; said that the tablets were : for his own use but later he I said that he intended to give i the tablets to persons in ; Christchurch to enable them to attain the same spiritual high as accused had and to share the same experiences. He had not given any tablets away because he had not found anyone good enough to share these experiences. “I pointed out to him that i he stood to lose money by I giving the tablets away and I he told me that he had no! ; need of material wealth and! ; that the money he had spent! I on the tablets meant nothing; to him,” witness said. ; To Mr Butler, witness said that at times accused was! i lucid and at other times he! I was vague, disinterested and! j irrational. I Peter Rudolf Hentschel, a! | scientist employed by the! I Chemistry Division of the De-! Apartment of Scientific and! i Industrial Research, said that! he was given a cigarette; | packet containing 194 light! I blue tablets. He selected 55; i tablets at random and when; analysed they were found to contain lysergide, commonly! known as LSD. Accused said in evidence! ;that it was Detective Kruger; ! who had suggested to accused! ; that the police had planted; the tablets and accused said; ;no. Accused said he had no! ; knowledge of the tablets,! I which were not his, and he!

had never admitted that they were. i “Detective Sergeant Kruger ; cautioned me and informed me he would be charging me (with having the narcotic ! lysergide for the purpose of supply and he invited me to make a written statement. 1 said: 'No, I don’t want to.’ I had asked for a lawyer when I first got to the C. 1.8. I said: ‘l’ve got my rights,’ and he said: ‘No, you’ve got no rights’,” witness said. Asked by Mr Panckhurst why he had booked into the motel under a false name, (accused replied that he had booked in for the person he | was staying with and he was ; frightened that this person i would “buzz off” without ; paying the bill and accused had no money. j When he was interviewed at the C. 1.8. accused said Jat the C. 1.8., he was fairly ! “stoned” —under the influ- ! ence of drugs, said accused. He had used cannabis the day before and the effects ! could last up to 24 hours.