Magistrate's Court Six months gaol for gate-crasher

Press, 14 September 1976, Page 4

Magistrate's Court Six months gaol for gate-crasher

One of the four youths charged with offences related to a gatecrashing incident at a party at 88 Flockton Street was sentenced to six months imprisonment by Mr B. A. Palmer, S.M., in the Christchurch Magistrate’s Court yesterday.

As a result of the incident, Mr Brian O’Donoghue, the occupier of the house where the party was being held, was hit over the head with an axe handle and kicked. His wife, Maria, was felled to the ground with a blow to the back of her head by a youth weilding an axe handle. A neighbour, Mr Douglas Tatterson, who was with Mr O’Donoghue asking the youths to leave, was also clubbed on the head with an axe handle and then struck in the face with a bottle. A sliver of glass entered his eye, and as a result Mr Tatterson lost the sight of his left eye.

Rodney Bruce Dowell, aged 18, a builder’s labourer, had pleaded guilty to charges of being a member of an unlawful assembly, assaulting Mr O’Donoghue, and driving while disqualified. A charge of breaking and entering a house with intent to intimidate, to which he had pleaded not guilty, was withdrawn by the prosecution. Counsel (Miss J. Mitchell) said that Dowell and his girlfriend had been at a party at New Brighton Road when they had heard of the party at Flockton Street. He and his friends had gone there, when the incident had occurred.

Dowell had only punched the complainant, Mr O’Donoghue, and had not struck any other blows. Neither had he used a weapon, Miss Mitchell said.

When sentencing Dowell, the Magistrate said that he was aware that the events material to the charges the youth faced had been widely publicised, but he had disregarded the publicity and was only taking into account the reports and summarv of facts before him. “As recently as August 10, you were sentenced by me for assaulting a traffic officer, and within 12 days of that, you were involved in this incident, which is far more serious,” the Magistrate told Dowell.

“In my view, there is little

to redeem your position,” he said. “You were already a disqualified driver' and yet you drove to and from this incident while under the influence of alcohol. And what happened at 88 Flockton Street was frankly disgraceful.” (Before Mr N. L. Bradford, S.M.) DIAMOND FRAUD A 31-year-old woman who made a fraudulent insurance claim on a diamond ring worth $6OB was fined $2OO. Patricia Karen McCord had earlier been convicted on a charge of fraudulently claiming $547.93 from the Security and Genera) Insurance Company.

She had pleaded not guilty, claiming the ring had been stolen from her Rangiora home last year

Mrs McCord was also ordered to pay witness expenses of $65 and to make full restitution of $547.92. Counsel for the defendant (Mr G. T. Mahon) submitted that his client still maintained her innocence. He said she had held positions of trust since she had left school and keenly felt that she had a lot to live down. Mr Mahon said that his client was a person quite unlikely to offend again. The Magistrate said that the whole incident was an unhappy one and a matter of regret that Mrs McCord had appeared in Court for such an offence.

Evidence had previously been given in the case by the jeweller from whom the defendant had originally bought the ring. He said the ring contained three diamonds and had been bought from him on February 10 last year. Mrs McCord had returned in September with three loose stones which she wanted made into a ring. She told the jeweller, the other ring had been stolen. The three diamonds were almost identical in weight and commercial description to the three in the ring he sold to her in February. Mrs McCord had claimed the loose stones had been sent to her in an unregistered letter from a friend in Auckland. (Before Mr E. S. J. Crutchley. S.M.)

DRIVING CAUSED DEATH A man convicted of causing death by carelessly using a motor vehicle was fined $3OO and disqualified from driving for a year. Theodoras Aloysius Johannes van de Aa, a selfemployed builder, had pleaded not guilty to causing the death of Franciscus Petrus Noordanus at Christchurch on March 30. The man had been killed when the car driven by the defendant had collided' with his stationary motor-cycle. Counsel (Mr M. P. Boyce), said that the defendant was negligent only because his driving had fallen from the standard expected. The defendant, he said, had driven for 26 years without an accident. 21 CARS BURGLED

Two 17-year-old unemployed youths who broke into a number of cars in the city and took over $lOOO worth of property were con-

victed and remanded to September 20 for sentence. Christopher Grant Bowring pleaded guilty to 22 charges — 21 of theft and one of unlawfully interfering with a car.

Barry John Rutter pleaded guilty to 16 charges of theft, and one charge of unlawful interference, and pleaded not guilty to five further charges, of theft.

Detective Sergeant Crookston said that between March 28 and August 30, the two defendants had broken into a number of cars, mostly together, but on occasions, separately. Property taken by Bowring amounted to $1066, and only part of this had been recovered. Property taken by Rutter amounted to $lOB4, and only $226 of this had been recovered, Detective Sergeant Crookston said. (Before Mr H. J. Evans, S.M.) POLICEMAN ASSAULTED A police constable was struck across the back with a two and a half foot crowbar by a man he was arresting for burglary, the Court heard yesterday. Robert Stanley Tuck, aged 30, unemployed, pleaded not guilty to a charge of assaulting Constable Graeme Cairns with intent to escape from the scene of a burglary. He was convicted and remanded to September 21 for a probation report and sentence. Tuck also appeared on one charge of burglary and one of having housebreaking instruments to which he pleaded guilty and was remanded to the same date. Tuck was also ordered to have a medical examination with a view towards a sentence of periodic detention. Sergeant Saunders said the offences occurred on July 5 when the premises of A. R. Harris, Ltd, in Blenheim Road was burgled. Nearly $BOO in electrical goods were stolen, none of which had been recovered. Constable Graeme Cairns said in evidence that he and another constable went to the premises and saw that a burglary had taken place. A number of cartons containing electrical goods were stacked at the rear of the premises. They both then hid themselves and watched through a peephole. About 12.25 a.m. Constable Cairns said he saw the defendant loading the cartons on to the back of a van. The other constable then went to try and arrest the driver of the van while he took care of the defendant, Tuck. Constable Cairns said he grabbed Tuck from behind and was then struck in the middle of the back with a crowbar by the defendant.

Tuck said in evidence that he had had no intention to use the crowbar. He said he had the crowbar in his hand because it was rattling on the tailgate of the van and he intended moving it to the main body of the vehicle. Tuck said he had then been grabbed by the constable and knowing he was going to fall to the ground had released the crowbar from his hand, so he could break his fall. The crowbar was not aimed anywhere in particular he said.