Girl wearing part of big jewellery haul

Press, 26 February 1977, Page 5

Girl wearing part of big jewellery haul

When police searched a house in Cashel Street, they found one of the occupants wearing a pendant that was part of a 817,000 haul stolen from a New Brighton jeweller last month, the Magistrate’s Court was told yesterday. Jennifer Fay Smith, aged 21, pleaded guilty to receiving the pendant, valued at $134.55, knowing that it had been dishonestly obtained. Mr K. W. Frampton, S.M., convicted Smith, and ordered her to come up for sentence in the .ext 12 months if called upon. Sergeant D. Gibson told the Court that in the early hours of January 8, the premises of Crescent Jewellers in Seaview Road were broken into, after a front window was smashed. On January 11 the premises were broken into again, and jewellery worth $17,000 was stolen during the two incidents.

Sergeant Gibson said police searched the defendant’s house last Friday, and asked her where she had obtained the necklace she was wearing. She said her boyfriend had given it to her as a present just after Christmas. Counsel (Mr J. Cassells) said Smith did not realise the value of the gift, nor how her boyfriend had obtained it. “It looked more like a trinket, than a $134 pendant,” Mr Cassells said. CAUSED INJURY A 22-year-old farm manager who nearly died when the -ar he was driving was cut in half in a collision, was fined $225 on a charge of causing bodily injury to a woman by driving with excessive blood-alcohol. Stuart West pleaded guilty to a charge of driving on October 2 last year with 166 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood and causing bodily injury to Deborah Beatrice Hall. Sergeant Gibson said that West was driving on Waltham Road at speeds of 60 to 70 tn.p.h., according to a bus-driver who had seen the defendant’s late-model car. At a bend in the road, he did not slow down, and his car broadsided on to the wrong side of the road, smashing into an oncoming car. West’s car was cut in half in the collision and he suffered severe injuries from which he nearly died. Miss Hall, the driver of the other car, was in hospital for five days. West was also disqualified from driving for a year. (Before Mr H. J. Evans, S.M.) SHIP THEFTS ALLEGED A 26-year-old man who is alleged to have either stolen or received three car radios which were taken from vehicles on board the roll-on ship Coastal Ranger is to defend the charges.

I Stephen Murray Anderson ‘was remanded to March 29 ifor a defended hearing when he appeared yesterday. The radios, worth 5348, are alleged to have been stolen on February 13 when the Coastal Ranger was between Wellington and Lyttelton.

MOCKED COURT Tana Michael Panapa has been making a complete mockery of the Court recently by naming lawyers not present as his counsel thereby managing to put off his case unnecessarily for several told to the Court yesterday by Sergeant B. G. Saunders when Panapa appeared to face charges of being unlawfully on premises, aggravated assault, and entering a building with intent to commit a crime.

Panapa. aged 20, an unemployed labourer, had previously entered pleas of not guilty to the charges of entering with intent and assault. Yesterday, Sergeant Saunders said that the defendant had been making a complete mockery of the Court. He said that each time Panapa had appeared, the defendant bad named lawyers not present as his counsel. In this way he was granted many remands and had managed to put off his case for a couple of weeks. Counsel named by Panapa had never seen or been instructed by him said Sergeant Saunders. He then applied for a further remand in custody for Panapa for a defended hearing. Panapa then told the Magistrate that he wished to change his pleas to one of guilty. He was convicted on all the charges and remanded in custody to March 4 for a probation report and sentence. Sergeant Saunders said that on January 19. the police were called to the premises of McAlpines Lounge by members of a highland pipe band who were practising there. Two members of the band had apprehended the defendant and an associate in an upstairs room in the lounge. While detaining Panapa and his friend until the police arrived one of the band members was pushed down a flight of stairs by Panapa. The man had received a dislocated right knee, bruising and shock from the fall. At 2.20 p.m. on February 4, said Sergeant Saunders, the defendant and an associate had walked down Canon Street. His associate had entered an address in the street which was occupied by two policemen. The associate had gone into the house through the open front door while Panapa waited outside. The two then left the address and went to Sherborne Street.

However they were followed by the policemen who lived at the house in Canon Street and apprehended when

■ they unlawfully walked on to i another property. PERIODIC DETENTION I A young man was sentenced to six months periodic and disqualified from driving for 12 months when he appeared for sentence yesterday. David Ford Gay had previously been convicted of breaking and entering a shop in Mcßratneys Road in the early hours of December 16. When the owner of the shop searched it, he found Gay crouched behind the counter with three cartons of cigarettes, groceries and confectionery. The defendant escaped, but a short time later the police found a van. “used by a wellknown criminal,” Sergeant D. Gibson had previously told the Court. The police interviewed the owner, who said he had recently swapped vehicles with Gav.

The defendant told the police he decided to break into the store after he had bought some groceries there. He was also ordered to pay $3O in restitution.