Four years gaol imposed on 41 charges

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33461, 16 February 1974, Page 15

Four years gaol imposed on 41 charges

Allen Graham Urquhart, i aged 30, unemployed, was f imprisoned for, a total of t four years when he appeared | before Mr Justice Macarthur < jin the Supreme Court ' [yesterday for sentence on 41 j ( [charges. j ( Urquhart was gaoled for ( ■ two years on charges of kid- 1 napping Brian Wayne McLa- j ren at Balclutha, robbing!; him of his wallet, and un- j lawfully taking his car. Peter Thomas Shearer,! aged 27, unemployed, wasj sentenced to two years and a half imprisonment on the , same charges and on a charge of assaulting Mr ; McLaren with intent to injure. A short time later, Urquhart again appeared in the dock for sentence on 34 ! charges of false pretence,! two of forgery, one of ob-j taining credit by fraud, one; iof receiving, and one of' theft involving money and! ! goods to the value of $1072.j. For these offences, he was , gaoled for two years. He! had pleaded guilty to these! charges in the Magistrate’s; Court and had been com- <

mitted to the Supreme Court for sentence. Mr A. J. Forbes, for Urquhart, said that he had been released from prison in June of last year and had made a strenuous effort to keep out! of trouble, but drink and I ; depression had led- to himj ioffending again. While in custody, Urquhart had made| two attempts to take his| I life. No weapon and very ! ilittle violence had been used| jin the robbery. In submissions on the ofI fences involving dishonesty, Mr Forbes said that most of them had been committed to obtain money for liquor. The ease with which Urquhart had been able to obtain money and goods with valueless cheques was a spur to him to continue to offend. He had received a surprising i amount of assistance from ‘business houses in Canterbury in obtaining money and goods, because no check had I been made when the stolen !cheque forms were presented. Those who had lost I money had been to some extent the authors of their own misfortune.

Mr J. E. Butler, for Shearer, said that the prisoner had an unfortunate background. He was a good worker when in employment, and his conduct in prison was exemplary. The kidnapping offence was not a serious one of its kind. Dealing with both prisoners on the charges arising from the kidnapping incident, his Honour said that the offences had been committed in a period of a few hours in September. Mr McLaren had been subdued to the point where he had accompanied both prisoners in his car from Balclutha to Christchurch. It was clear that liquor had played a major part in the prisoners’ offending, said his Honour. Both were capable of working when they wanted to.