Drove getaway car in robbery

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33959, 27 September 1975, Page 7

Drove getaway car in robbery

A young man who drove the getaway ear in a robbery in which an elderly woman’s handbag was snatched and the woman was knocked to the ground, was found guilty by a jury in the Supreme Court yesterday on a charge of robbery.

The man, Stanley Tumokaha Nelson, aged 21, a forklift driver, was remanded on bail to October 3 for sentence by Mr Justice Casey. Mr N. W. Williamson appeared for the Crown, which called seven witnesses, and Mr R. J. Murfitt for Nelson, i who pleaded not guilty to a 'charge of robbing Susannah Edwards, aged 66, of a handbag and contents valued at S4O.

Evidence was given that Mrs Edwards was walking down New Regent Street on Saturday evening, April 5, when her handbag was snatched from her by two youths and she was knocked to the ground. The youths ran off and leapt into a car driven by Nelson. The vehicle drove off- at high speed. DRANK BEER Nelson made a statement ito Detective Sergeant R.

Powell in which he said he had been driving around for the most of the afternoon in his car. He had his younger brother and his friend with him. They drank beer from bottles because his brother was too young to go to a hotel.

“They decided to roll someone,” Nelson said in the [Statement. “None of us had (any money. As we were going along they asked me to stop. They got out. I did not see who they were looking at. I drove up the road and turned around and waited.

; “I had been there for i about 10 minutes when I [ saw them running along the i footpath towards me. I then drove and picked them up. They didn’t say anything to me about what happened. I drove home and we had been there for a couple of minutes when the police arrived,” the statement con- . eluded.