Youth for trial on robbery charge

Press, 26 May 1977, Page 7

Youth for trial on robbery charge

he courts

A youth who pleaded not guilty to a charge of steal-i ing $504 from the Warring-i ton Service Station on April! 27 was committed to the Su-j preme Court for trial after, the taking of depositions I yesterday. The youth. Walter Leo-i r.ard Parsons Stone, aged 17, | later appeared in the Magis-i trate's Court, and was re-i manded in the custody ofi Sunnyside Hospital to June! The police prosecutor! (Sergeant J. C. Rowe) told i the court that the police I would call three witnesses' to prove that Stone had been connected with the theft of cash and cheques from the service station’s till, and two cash boxes in the office. The depositions were heard before two Justices of the Peace, Mr W. J. Hollobon and Mr H. A. R. Tullett. Graeme Levick Carriodus, the manager of the garage, said that on April 27 he had worked until 1.30 p.m., and later went back to find money missing from the two cash boxes and the till. The cash tins contained $317, and were locked in a cupboard in the office, and the kev was kept on top, he said. Andrew James Grant, a lubrication bay operator at the garage, said that he was working on a vehicle about 2 p.m. on April 27 when he

saw a man in the doorway) [to the office. | Soon afterwards he looked, : again, and the person had j gone. j Witness said that he later j jused the till, and noticed khat cheques and $5 and $lO 'notes were missing. He I thought the money, between ■is2oo and $3OO, had been , I banked. •i Witness then identified! -ithe defendant as the person ’ihe had seen in the doorway i|of the garage office. i Detective Constable R. J.) ri Hawkes said that he had! II interviewed the defendant at : 17.30 p.m. on the day the. i I money was taken. 1 The defendant had denied j knowledge of the matter at 5 first, and then said that he ; had been there, and acted as i lookout. The defendant refused to '[make a statement, but f allowed the detective to take • notes, which he later signed as being correct. ■ In the notes the defendant • said that he had met two I mates and “went out to get i some money to support our i drug habits.” > The group drove to the - Warrington Service Station . where the defendant said ■ that he “had to keep an eye s,on things otherwise they 5 [Wouldn’t give me a split.” He stood on the doorstep i of the office while another t youth went in. They then si went back to the car. tj The defendant then told s The detective that he took

■s7o — “enough for a taste,! ! and then we went looking! [for a pusher.” ! They went to a hotel and failed to find a pusher, and ;then went to a house where the defendant had a “taste.” 1 They arranged to meet a ■ pusher in a hotel. The pusher did not keep the appointment, and “while i we were going to his place ‘■we got chased." The defendant said that he !had spent $7O on “two ,! tastes and two caps to stop [[the pain.” Counsel (Mr R. J. Murfit't) oasked the detective if the defendant had recently taken I [drugs. ; ■ Detective Constable ! I Hawkes said that, in his ’‘opinion, the defendant appeared normal. ’ Mr Murfitt: Does a person 1 act normal when taking ’ drugs? When drugs are in the t system, speech and manner , are normal. When deprived I of drugs on which he is . dependent, the person gives ' an impression that he is , quite ill. J During the taking of j depositions the defendant [. had to leave the courtroom several times, and vomited lin court once. Two adjoum- , ments were taken because of rihis illness and Mr Hollobon I !requested that the defendi ant’s mother sit beside her jison because he was “sick c !and going to sleep.”