Magistrate’s Court High-speed chase ends in collision

Press, 19 October 1976, Page 4

Magistrate’s Court High-speed chase ends in collision

A high-speed chase by the police of a 17-year-old youth in a stolen car ended abruptly when the youth crashed the car into a police car on Bealey Avenue, causing more than $2300 worth of damage to both cars, the Magistrate’s Court heard yesterday. The youth, who had taken the car from a car sales yard with stolen keys and driven it at speeds of up to 95 m.p.h. along Madras Street through at least one red light, told the police he had done it “for a bit of fun.”

Frank Joseph Pukekura, a glass plate labourer, pleaded guilty to three charges of burglary, and one charge each of dangerous driving, car conversion, wilful damage worth $1567 to a police car, and breach of probation. He was convicted and remanded in custody to October 26 for probation report and a medical examination with a view to a sentence of detention centre training by Mr F. G. Paterson, S.M. Sergeant D. Gibson said that on September 22, the premises of Ascot Television in Colombo Street were broken into when the plate glass display window was smashed. Two transistor radios, worth $l6l and $146 each, were taken. One of these was recovered near the scene.

The defendant was found near the scene of the burglary but denied knowledge of it. He was interviewed again on October 11 and admitted breaking into the shop. He said he had left the scene and hidden the radios, but had returned later to see how long it Would take the police to arrive.

On October 1 at 2 a.m., Mayo’s Electrical, Ltd, in Lincoln Road, was broken into and two television sets

were removed. These were worth $llOO and had not been recovered. When interviewed on October 11, the defendant admitted taking the television sets. He said he sold them to an unknown person in a city hotel for $320. Sergeant Gibson said that on October 10, the office of Crown Court Car Sales was broken into and three sets of keys were taken. One of the keys belonged to a 1967 Pontiac worth $5250. Soon after 11.30 p.m. that car was taken from the yard and 20 minutes later it was spotted by a police car on Moorhouse Avenue. The police pursued the car, which was travelling north along Madras Street, at speeds up to 95 m.p.h. The defendant had driven through a red light. He made a right turn into Bealey Avenue and spun out of control. At one stage, he had driven the car on the wrong side of Bealey Avenue, against the one-way flow of traffic. Eventually, he collided with a police patrol car, damaging it to the value of $1567. Damage to the Pontiac amounted to $756. POINTED RIFLE A 33-year-old man who pointed a rifle at two policemen during a domestic dispute was sentenced to a total of four months imprisonment on four charges. Joseph Denis Ward, a sickness beneficiary, had pleaded guilty to two charges of presenting a .22 calibre rifle at two policemen, one charge of wilful damage, and one charge of assaulting Raymond James Scott.

He was sentenced to four months imprisonment on the assault charge; six weeks imprisonment on the wilful damage charge and one month’s imprisonment on the arms Charges. The Court had been told that on October 4, the defendant and his de facto wife had a domestic dispute. The next day his de facto wife and Mr Scott arrived home and the defendant ordered them away. The defendant grabbed Mr Scott and hit him, causing a broken tooth and bruising. Ward then grabbed a hammer from the back of his de facto wife’s car and smashed all but two of the car windows. The two complainants then went to the Hornby police station and reported the incident. When the police arrived at the house, Ward had pointed a rifle through the window at two of them. Counsel (Mrs P. D. Gibson) said that the defendant recollected little of what had happened after the two complainants had left the house. The rifle, which was not loaded, was on the kitchen table in pieces. Ward was putting it together when the police arrived. Ward realised that what hei did was serious but had no intention of threatening or'

harming anyone. Alcohol was involved to a large extent, Mrs Gibson said. Although the incident arose from a domestic dispute, this merely accounted for the origin of the offences and did not excuse Ward’s behaviour, the Magistrate said. “You were waving the rifle about, and, although it was unloaded, the constables did not know this and you caused them to fear for their safety,” the Magistrate told Ward.

“The atmosphere during the incident was such that your comment you made later was probably right •— had the rifle been loaded, you probablv would have used it,” the Magistrate said. HANDBAG THEFTS A 17-year-old youth who together with an associate stole $924 by snatching handbags was sentenced to detention centre training. Phillip Michael Robertson, an unemployed carpenter’s labourer, had previously pleaded guilty to 10 charges of theft, two charges of attempted theft and two charges of burglary.

The Court had heard that the defendant and an associate had driven around the city during August and September looking for people from whom they could steal handbags. In this way they stole $924, of which only $5B has been recovered. Two elderly ladies were knocked to the ground in the course of these incidents. The defendant and his associate also went to the West Coast where they stole clothing from a mining hut and burgled a house. “I don’t think anything else is appropriate,” the Magistrate said to Robertson when sentencing him. “I am quite satisfied that you cannot safely be left in the community at this .stage.” The Magistrate also ordered Robertson to pay $690 compensation and disqualified him from driving for nine months. PRISON ESCAPER A prison inmate at Mount Eden prison had walked out while on a work party outside the prison confines because he wanted to satisfy his alcoholic craving, the Court heard. Henry Arthur Burgess, aged 39, pleaded guilty to a charge of escaping from the prison. He was remanded to Friday for a probation report and sentence. Sergeant Gibson said that Burgess was sentenced to four years imprisonment in April on a large number of charges. On October 1, when the defendant was a member of a work party outside the confines of the prison, he walked out. He was found on October 9 in the foyer of a Christchurch hotel. He said he-was an alco-| holic and wanted to get out; and satisfy his craving for; drink. |