Youth tried to sell converted car

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33434, 16 January 1974, Page 18

Youth tried to sell converted car

(from Our Own Reporter’ NELSON, Jan. 13. One of two youths who took a $5OOO car from outside a Nelsen tavern tried to sell It in Invercargill for $3OOO, Mr J. W.{ P Watts. S.M., was told In the Nelson Children's Court today. Two youths aged 16, appeared , in connection with the conver-1 slon, and one of them was also charged with falsely represent-1 ing that the car was his moth- j er's unencumbered property i when he endeavoured to sell it. The two youths pleaded guilty to the charges. A girl will be I charged in the Children’s Court ( with similar offences next week.. Detective Sergeant E. « Tyson said the car, belonging to Transport Nelson, Ltd. was left parked for a few minutes: with the keys in the ignition on! .Januarv 7. The two boys and a r girl decided to take a car and one of th’ bow took the almost n- V motor-vehicle picked tin the ■ ether two and drove it to < hrl-(church Thev slept in the 1 rar there, then drove to Invercargill. , i On January q. .aid Detective i Sergeant Tyson, the car was < drl> en into an Invercargill ear , dealer's card, and one of the I - ouths told the dealer that the ear belonged to his father, who

had died just before Christmas, and his mother now owned the car. He had said a smaller car was wanted, and an arrangement was made whereby the dealer would pay $3OOO for the car. and the youth would return later. The dealer was suspicious and Unformed the police, whose {patrols soon picked up the car, said Mr Tyson. In the ensuing , chase high speeds were attained { and the police lost the other i vehicle three times. It was later [found abandoned in a swamp, land the three were found after a farmer had seen them running across his paddocks. ' One youth, appearing before i {the Court for the first time, was j convicted and ordered to come i up for sentence if called upon within a vear on the car conver-; jsion charge, and admitted to probation for two vears on the false pretence charge. The second youth, who had What the Magistrate described as a most disturbing record, had the charge of conversion ad-, I ionrned until May 15. The Magistrate will then decide whether to extend the term of nerindic detention he is alreadv serving, or sentence him to Borstal training. I Both boys were disoualified j from driving for two years.