Man gets six months’ jail for damaging cars

Press, 24 August 1977, Page 4

Man gets six months’ jail for damaging cars

One of two men who caused more than $lOOO worth orf damage to cars in the city was sentenced to six months imprisonment and ordered to pay $250 restitution by Mr J. S. Bisphan, S.M., in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday. Stephen Paul Batchelor, aged 19, a fitter welder, had earlier pleaded guilty to five charges of wilful damage. Counsel (Mr M. J. Glue) said that Batchelor was in need of counselling assistance, and because there was a considerable amount of restitution owing, it would be more realistic if he were allowed to stay in the community.

The Magistrate said that violence had played a large part in the defendant life, and that these offences were serious, quite inexplicable, and quite unacceptable in the comunity.

, (Before Mr N. L. Bradford, S.M.) BREAKING AND ENTRY Three men who broke into two city grocery shops in the early hours of August 20 were remanded in custody to September 6 for probation officer’s reports and sentence. Joseph Lane Ruka. aged 27, an unemployed fettler, Michael Carruth, aged 18, unemployed, and Malcolm Wayne Haare, aged 22, an unemployed process worker, pleaded guilty to the charges. Sergeant R. H. Prouting said that at 3.40 a.m. on I August 20, Haare and Carruth broke into Mitchells food store in Port Hills Road and took $ll6 worth of milk tokens, $l7 in cash, and one cake valued at 70 cents. The two men also broke

into Wheelers Grocery in Opawa Road, where they removed the shop till worth $4OO and $l2 in cash. Sergeant Prouting said that the men were apprehended as they were leaving. At both burglaries Ruka had acted as look-out, sitting outside in a

car with its engine kept running. A sum of $6O was needed, by way of restitution, from each of the three defendants, he added.

RACING CYCLE THEFTS Paul Stephen Willetts was said to have told the police he was broke and needed the I money to repay fines when he appeared charged with stealing two racing cycles and breaking and entering. Sergeant Prouting said that Willetts, aged 19, unemployed, and a co-offender, about midnight on July 21 had driven to the address at the rear of which was a shed housing two racing cycles.

The shed had been broken into and the cycles stolen. The next day one of the racing cycles was sold for $l2O, of which Willetts received $6O. Later, the second was sold and the money shared. On the night of August 6, the defendant and an associate drove to the address of the person to whom they had sold the first cycle and had stolen it again. This had been resold for $9O and the proceeds shared. Sergeant Prouting said restitution of $167.50 was sought from the defendant. Willetts was convicted on each charge and remanded in custody to September 6 for a probation officer’s report and sentence. MISUSE OF DRUGS An unemployed waitress charged with supplying heroin to a person or persons unknown was remanded to September 7 for the taking of depositions. Pauline Mary Firth, aged 22, was remanded without plea. She also faced a second charge of using heroin. CAR DUMPED A 21-year-old unemployed driver who unlawfully took a $llOO car to use when he committed a burglary, and later ditched it in the River Avon, was convicted and remanded in custody to September 6 for a probation officer’s report and sentence. Dennis John Dent pleaded guilty to unlawfully taking the car, the property of Dennis Gordon Brown, on August 12, and to breaking and entering the premises of Rapid Despatch Carriers in Cass Street. Sergeant Prouting said that damage to the car by water amounted to $250. Two black and white television sets worth $330, were removed from the back of a truck in the burglary at the premises of Rapid Despatch. Both sets had been recovered. In excuse the defendant told the police he had been drinking for most of the day. THREAT TO KILL A man who was alleged to have threatened to kill another man was further remanded in custody, to August 30.

Leslie Charles Montgomery, aged 25, a painter, was also charged with attempting to present an air pistol at the same man which in the circumstances was likely to lead that person to believe it to be a firearm. No plea was entered.

TOO MANY MUSSELS Two Christchurch brothers who, at Ao tea Harbour on March 12, had 17 more mussels than they should have when they returned from mussel beds, were each convicted and fined $3O by the Magistrate. Williams Tai and John Tai both pleaded guilty to having in their possession 217 mussels when approached by a fisheries officer at Morrisons Landing at 9.15 a.m. that day.

Counsel (Mr N. L. Hampton) said that the case had been transferred from the Te Awamutu Court. Both of his clients had gone to the North Island to attend the funeral of their father and the day before had gone out to get some mussels in the company of another man and an 11-year-old boy. He said that they kept only a rough count of their mussels, and it was not until they were actually counted in front of the officer that they realised they had 17 more than the daily quota for a party of three men. The Magistrate said that it was not a bad case of its kind and fined each $3O. BEER BOTTLE THEFT Because he needed the money for his drinking problem, Peter John Robinson stole 500 beer crates and 500 dozen beer bottles, to a total value of $330, from his employer, the Associated Bottlers’ Company, Ltd, the Court was told. Robinson, aged 23, pleaded guilty to the charge of theft. He also pleaded guilty to a charge of stealing 40 dozen beer bottles and 84 beer crates, to a total value of $39.60, the property of William Webb. Sergeant Prouting said that on November 9 last year the defendant and an associate had picked up a load of bottles and crates, taken them back to the bottlers’ yard, obtained credit for them, and had then driven the load to a dealer who paid them $l4O. On July 29, the defendant had driven to Kaikoura where he had picked up a load of bottles and crates from a hotel. There, he had shortcounted the bottles by 40, the crates by 84, and had obtained $39.60 for these, Sergeant Prouting said. The defendant was convicted and remanded to September 6 for a probation report and sentence. FURTHER REMAND Edward Mohi Huria, aged 25, unemployed, was remanded in custody to September 20 for the taking of depositions when he appeared in Court. He was charged with assisting Myles Athol Brown who, being armed with an offensive weapon, an imitation pistol, robbed Brian Robert Solenski of $2641 on July 22. The charge relates to the robbery of the Oaklands Post Office.