Man took van to ‘get out of town’

Press, 25 May 1977, Page 14

Man took van to ‘get out of town’

A man who walked around Christchurch for a day and a night with a broken leg and 20 stitches in his head was discharged without conviction by Mr F. G. Paterson, S.M., when he appeared in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday on a charge of unlawfully taking a van. Alan John McPhee, aged 37, charged with having un-i lawfully taken a van, the property of Whitcoulls, Ltd, pleaded guilty. Detective Sergeant D. K. White sid the defendant had taken the van from Cashel Street about 8 p.m. on Maj' 20 and had driven it to Lyttelton and Purau. McPhee took the van, said Detective' Sergeant White, “because he said he wanted to get away from it. all.” Counsel (Mr D. H. P. Dawson) described the police summary as something of an understatement.” The story began at Am-i berley, said Mr Dawson, where the defendant lived alone. The day before he had fallen off his horse and had suffered a number of injuries. After obtaining a lift to Christchurch he had gone to the public hospital where he received about 20 stitches for the head wounds. After being treated the defendant had been advised to go home. Because of his appearance said Mr Dawson, his client had probably looked somewhat disreputable and so had been unable to find accommodation for the night ! at any of the city’s missions. He had taken the van sim- , ply to get out of town. Mr Dawson said when the ] police picked McPhee up they acted properly in getting a doctor to look at him. , The doctor sent him back to ■ the hospital where his leg ( was found to have been' broken- It was subsequently put in plaster. While appreciating that the defendant’s circum-'i

I stances were somewhat uni( usual, the Magistrate in disII charging McPhee without i conviction warned him that i property had to be protected and that there was no ex- ! cuse for his having taken ■ the van. ! KILL-THREAT CHARGE A 19-year-old man with a desire to “carve his brother up” was convicted and sentenced to five months periodic detention when he appeared on charges of threatening to kill his brother and to possessing an offensive weapon. The Magistrate also released Anthony Whakawhiti Steven Namana on probation for 12 months. Namana pleaded guilty to both charges. The charges related to an; incident on the evening of May 11 when the police surrounded a house in Fendalton after a man was seen (chasing another man down the street with a knife. Detective Sergeant White said an argument had developed between Namana and his brother at their mother’s home. When during a fight the( brother appeared to have: gained the upper hand Na-j mana had gone inside, grabbed a knife and come! out with the intention of 1 “carving his brother up.” Counsel (Mr M. J. Glue) said Namana had a low threshold of tolerance and had become agitated after the brother had accused the' defendant of “having ripped I his place off.” Mr Glue said the defend-! ant was adamant that he) had committed no theft in p his brother’s home. The mother has been most) concerned about the situ-i. ation and had taken steps tol see that the two brothers)‘ did not come into contact ( with each other. I. In sentencing Namana the ( Magistrate told him it was al' serious offence — family! l matter or not. k

•I FORGERY - A youth who attempted to t(cash two cheques from a 11 cheque book stolen from a ijparked car was convicted -(and sentenced to periodic i detention for three months. Barry Russell Soper, aged 17, pleaded guilty to charges of attempting to forge two ( cheques worth a total of $220. Detective Sergeant White J said the owner of the car : discovered that it had been broken into about midnight on April 16 and certain 1 items removed, including a cheque book. A co-defender had later returned to give back some of the stolen property but ■ not the cheque book, i Counsel (Mr M. J. Glue) I said his client’s associate I was illiterate and had asked him to write out two cheques. In the first instance the presenter had left the bank before it had been cashed and on the second attempt the police were on hand to deal with the matter. There was no hope of the attempts succeeding. ; The co-offender, said Mr (Glue, had already pleaded 'guilty in the Children and (Young Persons Court, and had been remanded subject Ito a probation officer's report. BURGLARY Peter Dunstan Murphy, aged 29, who pleaded guilty to nine charges of burglary, was convicted and sentenced to 18 months imprisonment by the Magistrate. j Between February 17 and ■March 4, Murphy took as* i sorted tools worth $672 ifrom a Christchurch carlwrecking firm, and stole $3O (from a meter box at a Geraldine holiday home. I The Magistrate said that as the defendant had not responded to probation he was not inclined to impose a community-based sentence.