MAGISTRATE'S COURT Prison escapers convicted

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 34012, 28 November 1975, Page 17

MAGISTRATE'S COURT Prison escapers convicted

Two prison inmates, chargeo with escaping from Paparua Prison on Wednesday, burgling a farmer's house, and unlawfully taking the farmer's car, appeared handcuffed to each other in the Magistrate's Court yesterday. Gerald Peter Nelson, aged 21. and Barrx John Jackson, aged 21. both pleaded gniJG to the charges. Mr N. L. Bradford. S..M . convicted both men and remanded them in custodx to Decembei 4 for sentence Sergeant R. H. Fronting said that the two had met in the prison grounds on November 25. Both were in separate work parties, and they arranged to escape the next da\. ’The two men ran from the prison grounds toward Pound Road. They saw ;< farmer working in a paddock >o went to his house to take his car. Sergeant Fronting said ’hat the two men tried to start the car. belonging to Robert James Oliver, but could not. so the\ entered the farmer's home They entered the house through an ooen back door and made a search for the car keys and any money they could find. They took the keys and SI Jackson drove the car south. The pair were seen by a police patrol at Rangitata. The car was abandoned at Peel Forest where the two were located and arrested. Nelson said he had escaped for personal reasons. Jackson >aid he had escaped “just for the sake of it.*’ said Sergeant Fronting. They had taken the car on the spur of the moment, and had intended going to Dunedin. Jackson was in prison on a 12 month sentence on a charge of burglan-. He had served fmn months of his sentence. Nelson was in prison on a 10 month charge tor receiving and burglary, lie had served two months. SQUARE INCIDENT A 23-year-old man appeared on a charge of assault with intent to injure, and was remanded on bail for a week without plea. The alleged assault relates to an incident in the Square on Wed nesday night in which two men iwere’assaulted with bottles. TOOK 11 CARS David Paul Froggat. aged 19. unemployed, pleaded guilty to 11 charges of unlawfully taking a car and a charge of interfering with a car. He was convicted and remanded in custody to December 4 for sentence. Sergeant Prouting said that on November 13 the police stopped the defendant in a car he had taken that day. After being questioned he admitted that within the previous three weeks he had taken 10 other cars and interfered with a twelfth. He could not explain his actions but said that he felt he bad a “problem in this direction.” Froggatt had helped recover some of the property taken from the cars, said Sergeant Prouting. Other persons involved in the offences were also to appear before the Court. ASSAULT IN TAVERN On a charge of assaulting Donald Maguire, on October 24 in the foyer of the Papanui Tavern, Walter Ngatae. aged 33, a yard foreman, was fined $5O. He pleaded guilty to the charge. Sergeant Prouting said that

Ngatae grabbed the den naan! ind knocked him to the ilooi • As the complainant was gelt n. up. Ngatae punched him in tin. side ot tile head The hotel pi<> prietor stopped the tight The fight arose aftei Ngata. was talking on the telephone and the complainant was waiting fm him to finish Mr W S. Smith, the dutx >oh citor. said that the defendant was engaged in a long telephone call. The complainant had attempted to enter the cubicle o» three occasions. On the last occasion the took place Mr Sm : th >aid ’hat the defendant had been provoked to some extent ASSAULT IN PARK A lfi-\ear-old boy who was with his sister in Burwood Pati about 8.15 pin. was leg-tripped, twice and then kicked and punched, said Sergant Pi outing. Two men pleaded guilty to a charge of assaulting the bow anti v ere remanded to December 4 for sentence. Trevor Desmond Gordon Garlick, aged 28. a sickness beneficiarx. and John Frederick Pragnell. aged 19. a welder, were granted bail Sergeant Fronting said the in•ident occurred on November 19 when the defendants were with i groun that approached the boy and his sister, aged 14 The boy aas tnoped and v hen he got up Garlick asked if he wanted to fight. The bo\ walked a wav and Garlick tripped him again. Garlick then punched and kicked the box in the back and, ; his associates joined in. punching the boy. Pragnell. at one stage, grabbed the box b\ the hair and pushed him down Both defendants could give no explanation fo> their actions, said Sergeant Prouting, Carlick admitted ounehing but denied kicking. P-agnell said he had been drm kin? PUNCHED MAN John Henry Lamb, aged 21. a labourer, was convicted and fined S6O on a charge of assaulting Kevin Thomas B’-vant He : ole.aded guilty to the charge Lamb was also convicted on his nlea of guilty to a charge of using obscene language in a pub lie place, and was fined $4O. Sergeant Prouting said that the two charges arose after the defendant with two friends kicked the complainant's car in Papanui Road, When the complainant tried to stop them. Lamb punched i him in the face twice. The complainant and the defendant left, and a short chase en-j sued to Colombo Street, where the defendant used the obscene language. The defendant said he hit the complainant because he thought the complainant was going to hit him. CAR OFFENCES A man who appeared on three charges of unlawfully taking a car. one of interfering with a vehicle, and one of theft, was put on probation for 18 months. Gary* George Wilson, aged 19, unemployed (Mrs D. J. Rothe* ram), had previouslx- pleaded guilty to all five charges. The Magistrate ordered compensation of $11.50 to be paid, by Wilson. The defendant had been a I minor partv to the offences and! was led into them, said Mrs; Roth eram. BURGLARY Lynn? Maree MacaskilL aged( 18. unemployed (Mrs D. J. Rothe- 1 ram), was put on probation for 18 months when she appeared for sentence on a charge of; burgling the house of Cheryl l Ann Carrol on November 5. She had previously pleaded guilty. Mrs Rotheram said the ’ defendant had entered the house ! as she had been trying to get a job, particularly in photography. and she did not have any dresses. She took clothing' and an alarm clock. The clock was to wake her up to seek employment. The defendant was ordered to pay compensation of S6O. for unrecovered property EXCESSIVE ALCOHOL Jason James Morunga. aged 32, a machine operator, was convicted on his plea of guilty to a charge of driving with an excessive blood-aicohol level (172 mg). He was fined $2OO and disqualified from driving for six months. ■ Before Mr B. A. Palmer, S.M.)

EXTORTION CHARGE A man wrote a letter to a friend, asking him to send some money to pay a fine, the Court heard. He said he needed it urgently, and if it was not sent, he would either go to the police, or tell his friend's father, about an alleged offence. The man, Christopher Bruce Salisbury, aged 29. a cleaner (Mr C. H. Knight), was convicted on a charge of extorting money from John Wharehoka by a threat. Salisbury changed his plea to guilty after the police had called evidence. He was remanded on ball to December 3. for sentence The Magistrate called for a report on the defendant's circumstances and ordered him to have a medical examination The Court was told that a motor-cycle was put in the Heathcote River last year, by Salisbury. The offence had been dealt with. On November 11. 1974. in Upper Hutt. Mrs Dorothy Ellen Wharehoka received a telephone call from Salisbury, in Christchurch. Witness said the defendant asked her to contact her son as he had taken ‘‘the rap*’ ; for him on the motor-cycle (Charge and there was a fine of ■ 596 to be paid. . Witness said she asked her son 1 to send the money. Salisbury said he would be sent to gaol if the fine was not paid. John Wharehoka said he received a letter from Salisbury, asking him to send the money. Salisbury said that if he did not send the money he would “turn him in,” or go to witness’s father. Witness said he robbed a Porirua dairy’ of $3OO. after delivering there. This had occurred after the discussion with his mother. Constable Robin Joseph Woolhouse said he questioned the defendant on October 31. Salisburysaid he was desperately in need of money to pay fines and res-

titutfon fot a motot-cyvle rWnanehoka owed him *ome noney Salisburv and Wharehoka had ’aken the motor-c\ cle the pic ious xeai The defendant had untested t<» the police lie had :ied to contact Wharchoka at ppci Hutt through his muthci .nd when he did not heat back ie ill t 1' :c I to •’ • ' • ■ 1 Hx* wrote the lettei in the manner described be« .him h> wanted \\ harehokv •«> rvalue he needed the monev urgent lx He -aid he did not think he uould have told the police or Wh.<i<loka s father The letter w a* written on a bail bond on a charge of unlawfully taking iho motor-cycle Mr Knight -aid the pro*vcu lion had not proved it> <a-t IL said no ofience w, t - alleged in the letter and the telephone calls were not threatening He -aid it was simplx a threat to •turn a person in The Magistrate said the lette* was clearlx referring to Wharo hoka’s involvement I’ wa- al-< written on the back of the bail bond. STOLE PIN! After pleading not guihv to a charge of stealing a river punt valued at $lOO. the prope’tx <»i Barry John McAlister, a 25 \car old timber worker was convicted of the charge. Keith John Hickmott Mr M. J. Frenchi. was fined $l5O. tor what the Magistrate described aa “blatant act of theft." Mr McAlister told Sergeant I ' R Palmer that he went down to

the river in Kaiapoi to go white baiting, un Octotx i 19 His punt was not there He -car. bed f<> ’he punt along the full Irngf uf the river The mint IS feet long, and painted light him H< had bpilf it himself Witness -aid he had gone r. -re the defendant with a <on stable Hickmott had -aid he had bought th<- boat t • *2' from .< prr-on in Rangmre In evidence. Hickmott said ■>< found the boat in the i \ri tie to a tree with a chain It w full nl water and did not appeal to he owned He fled the boat upMf«‘a'i After a fortnight, he brought ’I . boat ashore and gave it a paint He took it back up-ticam .•-> nut a padlock on it \ fortnight later, he was queMoned io the S< Al I H D U IF I water on In- wife < ausing bum was convicted on foui chaige* The defendant aged 42 M* G R I .<-1 C:l< - , . guiltv to two chaige- m a.*-a"'t ing his wife and pleaded gui"! to charges of wilful damage and resisting a constable The names ot the defendant and hi- wife were suppressed »n the interests of the wife M' the <ft cnees occurred between >ep tember 24 and October 20 The defendant was nut on pto bation for 18 month- As a -pe. ia condition he was to under taM 150 hour- of communtfv work and to live where directed