The courts Girl charged in jail drug death incident

Press, 6 October 1977, Page 4

The courts Girl charged in jail drug death incident

On a charge of supplying heroin to a prison inmate, a 2 2-y e a r-old unemployed waitress was remanded in custody by Mr N. L. Bradford. S.M., to October 19 when she appeared in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday. Pauline Mary Firth was charged with supplying the drug to Samir Murad Karim, an inmate at Addington Prison, on or about September 22. Karim, an Iraqi chef, was found dead in his cell from a drug overdose late last month. Karim was in prison awaiting trial in the Supreme Court on a drug charge. Firth elected, trial by jury on the supply charge, and also to an earlier charge of using heroin. Counsel (Mr C. B. Atkinson) had sought bail for his client who will appear for trial on another drug charge on Monday, in the Supreme Court. Bail was opposed by the police. ASSAULT CHARGE Robeti Misiblack, aged 19, a machine operator, charged with assaulting David Chang during a fight at a party on September 16, was convicted and remanded to October 19 for a probation report and sentence. Detective Sergeant D. K. White said the defendant had attended a party on the night in question at which about 30 to 40 people were present. Misiblack and Chang became involved in two separate fights, during which Chang was thrown to the floor and kicked in the head and the body. Another of Misib’ack’s associates arrived at the party and he too kicked and later stabbed Chang in the back. , Detective Sergeant White said Misiblack admitted kicking Chang, but added that he was not involved in the stabbing incident, with which another man had been charged. The police sought Misiblack’s deportation home to Tonga. The Court was told that Misiblack had already been in custody for two weeks, and that bail was sought. FALSE PRETENCE A youth who withdrew $3OO from a Bank of New Zealand Savings account with a stolen passbook was convicted on a charge of false pretence. Talosaga Shem Gilbert aged 17. unemployed, pleaded guilty to the charge and was remanded for sentence to October 17, when he will also appear on a charge of burglary. Detective Sergeant White said the bank book had been lost early in July, and on July 12 a withdrawal of $3OO was made from the account. The defendant said he found the passbook in a rubbish tin in Cathedral Square and withdrew the money for necessities — food, clothing and drink, said Detective Sergeant White. (Before Mr F. G. Paterson S.M.) SIX CHARGES An 18-y ear-old solo mother, facing sentence for a conviction of theft, and five convictions of false pretence, was “easily led,” and ‘‘a victim of a deprived background,” her counsel (Mr E. H. Parsons) told the Court. Robyn Carol McGrath had pleaded guilty to a charge of stealing a handbag from a city nightclub in July, and five charges of passing stolen cheques, to a total value of $122, in August. She was placed on probation for two j'ears, and ordered to do 72 hours community work. She was also ordered to make full restitution, to abstain from alcohol, and to undertake counselling and mothercraft education courses with the probation service. Mr Parsons said the

cheques had been given to her by a man and most of the money had gone to him. McGrath, who was on probation when the offences were committed, was from a deprived background, Mr Parsons said. Other members of her family had been in trouble with the law, and she had been in a girls’ home four times. She had a baby and was intending to marry the baby’s father when he was released from prison, Mr Parsons said. “She needs help to get on top of these unlawful tendencies. “I have made it perfectly! plain to her where this sort of offending will take her in the future,” said Mr Parsons. “It is asking a lot of the community that you be allowed to remain in it with the possibility of future! offending. If there is any repetition you are likely to be! sent to ’ Borstal,” said the I Magistrate. (Before Mr B. A. Palmer,! S.M.) NURSE FINED After attending a fund-, raising function for the St John Ambulance Association, for which he volunteered up to 30 hours of his time a week, Gordon Charles Fraser drove through a compulsory stop, and collided with another car. A blood sample taken later showed his blood contained 155 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood, Fraser, a nursing superintendent, pleaded guilty to a charge of driving with an excess blood-alcohol level on August 14. The Magistrate fined him $l5O and disqualified him from driving for 12 months. TRUCKER DISQUALIFIED On the way home at 11.51 p.m. from a three-hour business discussion in a hotel, during which he said he “drank four beers,” Trevor Louis Vincent, aged 31, drove his truck into a parked car in Cranford Street, causing $3OOO damage. A blood sample showed a blood-alcohol level of 280 mg. Vincent pleaded guilty to a charge of driving With an excess blood-alcohol level. “Nobody could intelligently discuss business with this level of alcohol in the blood,” said the Magistrate. He also told Vincent, the owner-driver of a logging truck, that he had the dubious distinction of having the highest blood-alcohol level of the day. Because of the defendant’s business commitments, which committed him to work long hours, six days a week, the Magistrate said he would not impose a penalty of periodic detention. Vincent was fined $3OO and disqualified from driving for 18 months. The disqualification is effective from October 19, so that he can apply for a limited licence to run his truck. (Before Mr J. S. Bisphan, S.M.) JAIL TERM It was distressing for him to have to impose a prison sentence for a traffic offence such as that before him, the Magistrate told David Baden Flutey, aged 39, who appeared on a blood-alcohol charge. However, for a third such offence within 12 months and especially when in the most recent case the bloodalcohol level was 311 there was no alternative but prison. “If you drink and drive, you can cause more damage to life and limb than if you were committing a criminal offence. Because of this, blood-alcohol offences are viewed very seriously by the Courts,” said the Magistrate. Flutey was sentenced to two months jail, to be followed by 12 months probation. He was disqualified from holding a driving licence for six months, cumulative with his present disqualification, which will expire in 1980. Flutey was also ordered to attend a course for an assessment of his alcoholism.