Bottle fractures child’s skull

Press, 16 November 1977, Page 5

Bottle fractures child’s skull

A man who in an irate I mood threw a beer bottle at his wife, accidentally hitting his nephew and fracturing his skull, was yesterday convicted on a charge of assault by Mr B. A. Palmer, S.M., when he appeared in the Magistrate’s Court. The 32-year-old man, whose name was suppressed because he had other schoolage children, was remanded to November 29 for sentence. He pleaded guilty to the charge. Sergeant K. J. Hurndell said the defendant had started drinking at a function after a funeral on the morning of September 10. He and his wife had stopped at a hotel just after 2.30p.m. , When they returned home an argument developed. Later in the day the wife accidently locked the defendant out of the house when she went to a shop. When she returned the defendant i had become irate, said Sergeant Hurdnell. He had thrown a beer ] bottle at his wife who was holding the child at the < time. The bottle had struck < the child on the back of the head causing a 2in lacerated wound and lodging two , slivers of bone in the brain, j These had been removed.', in an operation and the child had been discharged from hospital on September ( 17. < 1 he Magistrate said he , wanted a full medical report * on the likely future of the child's health, with regard to , the injury, before he i sentenced the defendant. f BROTHEL CHARGE ' A woman, aged 36, who is ‘ charged with keeping a •< brothel in Linwood, was remanded on bail to February ' 27, 1978, by the Magistrate. 1 Depositions were to have I been heard yesterday but the f woman’s counsel (Mr G. R. ' Lascelles) said a Court of ! Appeal decision, relevant to 1 this case, was a waited and because of this the remand I was sought. 1 Interim suppression of the ' woman’s name was continued. DRIVING CHARGE < The driver of a car which £ hit three pedestrians on a a pedestrian crossing in Woodham Road was fined $220 £ and disqualified from driving £ from six months. £ John Follet Drayton, aged ! 21, a salesman, pleaded 1 guilty to a charge of causing c bodily injury to Betty Jane Niven by carelessly using s car on September 15. Sergeant S. D. A. Hoopesaid Drayton had been driving along Woodham Road ~t 6.55p.m. when he hit three pedestrians, a woman and two children, who were in the middle of the crossing. The woman, who was still in hospital, suffered facial injuries and a broken leg; one of the children also suffered a broken leg and the third person suffered bruising to the legs, said Sergeant Hooper. Counsel (Mr G. S. Brodie) said it had been an inexplicable accident and one that never should have happened. The defendant was an extremely careful driver and he had slow’ed down to 35km/m at the crossing. As a salesman who drove 18,000 miles a year the defendant had never had an accident,! said Mr Brodie. There were three main factors contributing to the accident — the defendant was unfamiliar with the area and the flashing lights on the pedestrian crossing had not been working, Mr Brodie said. It had been dusk at the time of the accident and it had been drizzling, making it more difficult to see road markings, Mr Brodie said. The pedestrians had stepped onto the crossing from the defendant’s side of the road and the first section of the crossing had been obscured to him by illegally parked cars, Mr Brodie said. Drayton had stopped instantly after the accident and would meet any medical expenses incurred by the woman, Mr Brodie said. The Magistrate, said he accepted the factors which contributed to the accident but it had still been a serious traffic offence. ARMS OFFENCE A 25-year-old man who told the police he was sick of taking pills and that he was walking to Blenheim

| “taking his rifle for company” was remanded in custody to Sunnyside Hospital] for observation and a report. The man, whose name was suppressed in the interim, pleaded guilty to a charge of carrying a .22 calibre rifle except for some proper and lawful purpose on Colombo Street on November 5. The man had been seen with the rifle on his shoulder by a police patrol which followed him. In addition to the rifle, which had one round in the breach and a full magazine, the defendant also had 130 rounds of ammunition in his possession. The Court was told the defendant hae a marked psychiatric background. REMANDED IN CUSTODY Francis John Panapa was remanded in custody to November 22 when he appeared on six charges of breaking and entering and one of receiving five digital watches. Bail for the 17-year-old Panapa was opposed by the police. He was remanded to December 1 for the taking of depositions. CANNABIS CHARGE I On a charge of supplying cannabis to a policeman, Jef-] frey Thomas Rogal was re-1 manded without plea to No-1 vember 22. Rogal, a 20-year-old pas-| trycook, faces four charges! of supplying cannabis to a] police constable. RECEIVED TV Jennifer Gaye Loach, aged 23, pleaded guilty to charges of receiving a coloured television set worth $7OO and a cassette radio player worth $350, About 11.35 p.m. on November 7 the defendant’s flat was visited by the police and the property, stolen from city houses a week earlier, were found in her bedroom, said Sergeant Hooper. Initially the defendant denied having the goods but later admitted knowing they were stolen. On these charges she was convicted and remanded in custody to November 22 for a probation officer’s report and sentence. She was also remanded in custody to December 12 for a fixture on a charge of stealing goods worth $9O, the property of Patrick Bevan Nolan, and on another of possessing cannabis leaf.

ASSAULT ■ ] A 34-year-old taxi-driver llwas convicted and fined $75 when he appeared on a ; charge of assaulting Terry .'Francis Styler on November f 11. •; Desmond James Duggan 11 pleaded guilty to the offence > which occurred after an argument with the comi plainant following a minor ; traffic accident. ' (Before Mr J. S. Bisphan, , S.M.) [ ONE YEARS JAIL A man caught by a police f dog just after he had broken . into the liquor store of Flet- ] cher Humphreys Ltd, in Co- ] lombo Street was sentenced to jail for 12 months. John Henry Karetai, aged ; 24, had pleaded guilty to the . offence which occurred on [ Octber 21. , The Court had earlier been ! told that Karetai had admitted that he had joined in a ' planned burglary of the ; store at the invitation of some men he had met at the Imperial Hotel. He said he had only acted as lookout. Of the five who took part lin the burglary Karetai and lan associate, Bernard Gerard | Dehair, were found nearby Iby the police dog. Dehair i {has already been convicted] lof burglary and sentenced to] 12 months jail. I (Before Mr N. L. Bradford’ S.M.) WAIAU BURGLARY For his part in the burglary of a shop at Waiau Richard Alan Loveridge, aged 26, was sentenced to nine months in jail, to be followed by 12 months on probation. The Court was told that the defendant had acted as the lookout and been talked into his involvement in the burglary, which occurred on May 18 and 19 this year. As a result of the burglary, committed with some other companions, clothing and goods worth $2020 and $6OO in cash was taken. None of the property had been recovered, the Court was told. The Magistrate said the defendant had been treated leniently by the courts for offences committed in the past and that what was needed now was “a short, sharp shock to make you realise your responsibilities to the community in which you are living.”