Magistrate’s Court Gatecrasher admits injury charge

Press, 16 October 1976, Page 4

Magistrate’s Court Gatecrasher admits injury charge

The youth who threw a beer bottle at a man while gate-crashing a party at 88 Flockton Street, causing the bottle to shatter on the man’s head and a sliver of glass to enter his eye, was convicted on two charges in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday. As a result of the incident the man has possibly lost the sight of his left eye. David John Nevitt, aged 17, a process worker, pleaded guilty to a charge of injuring Douglas James Tatterson with intent to injure him and to a charge of being a member of an unlawful assembly outside the house in Flockton Street on August 20. He was remanded to next Friday for sentence by Mr H. J. Evans, S.M. Detective Sergeant J. Crookston told the Court that on August 20 a party was held at 88 Flockton Street for senior pupils of two local secondary schools. At 11.50 p.m. a large group of people arrived. Some of them had been invited to the party, but were told that, because the group was so large, they could not come in. Most of them left, but a hard core of uninvited guests stayed, and tried to get in to the party.

They broke the window on the front door to try to get in. The owner of the house where the party was being held, his wife, and a neighbour, Mr Tatterson, went to the front of the house to ask the group to leave. Both the owners of the house, Mr and Mrs O’Donoghue, were clubbed with an axe handle. Both suffered large gashes on their heads and required stitches. Mr Tatterson was also clubbed on the head with an axe handle by one of the members of the group. While Mr Tatterson was bending over, recovering from the blow to his head, someone shouted: “He's a toughie; better get him again.” Nevitt then threw a beer bottle he was holding at Mr Tatterson. The beer bottle shattered on his head and a sliver of glass entered his eye. ■ Since the incident, Mr Tatterson had not been able to see out of his left eye, and doctors were not sure if he would regain sight in the eye, Detective Sergeant Crookston said. Two other youths have been convicted and sentenced on charges arising from the incident and a third youth has elected trial by jury on various charges. “ACTING SUSPICIOUSLY” A man who broke win-

dows, worth $75, in a Ministry of Works truck, and unlawfully got into a car, valued at $5500, belonging to the Customs Department, was convicted and remanded for a week for sentence.

Alfred Rewi Keating, an unemployed kitchen hand, was also convicted on a charge of unlawfully being in the yard where the vehicles were parked. Keating’s associate in the offences, William Joseph Hohepa, was convicted of unlawfully getting into the Customs Department vehicle, and being unlawfully in the yard. Detective Sergeant Crookston said the police were called to a property in Hereford Street about 11.45 p.m. on Thursday, October 14, after two persons were seen acting suspiciously in the area. The police saw Hohepa get out of the Customs Department vehicle, and Keating was found inside the vehicle. Windows in the Ministry of Works truck were smashed.and a hammer was lying near the van. Half a dozen bottles of beer were also found nearby.

Windows and doors in other vehicles parked in the yard were opened. The defendants had gained access to the yard through an alley leading off Hereford Street.

Both defendants pleaded guilty.