The courts Arson charge after $200,000 fire

Press, 21 February 1978, Page 4

The courts Arson charge after $200,000 fire

Robert Bruce Rennie, aged 20, a glass sorter, was re- 1 manded without plea in cus- 5 tody to February 27 when i he appeared before Mr F. G. 1 Patterson, S.M., in the Magis- 1 trate’s Court yesterday on a i charge of arson. 1 Rennie was charged with ( wilfully setting fire to the premises of Reefton Motors, Ltd, at Reef ton, on Saturday. < Damage caused by the fire j was estimated to be about j $200,000. . t Bail was sought for the i defendant by the duty solic- , itor (Mr R. S. D. Twyneham) t but this was opposed by Sergeant C. J. Shanahan. t GAMING OFFENCE t A fine of $250 was im- ; posed on Sidney Osborne j Moffitt who was charged ; with carrying on the busi- 1 ness of a bookmaker in ' Christchurch on February ‘ 11. Moffitt, aged 45, unemployed, was told by the' Magistrate that only the I Totalisator Agency Board ' was authorised by law to ’ deal in betting in New Zea- 1 and. , Sergeant Shanahan said: detectives executed a search warrant on the defendant’s I premises on February 11 s where betting records on horses at a race meeting to take place in Auckland that i night were found. i

The defendant had taken 15 bets, ranging from $3 to $lO, totalling $7O for the night. He admitted to the police that he had been bookmaking for three months but said he had only worked in a small way, the Court was told. THEFT OF $3lO On a charge of stealing $3lO, the property of the Hagley Golf Club, on February 11, Eric William Zwarst, aged 18, was convicted and remanded to March 7 for a probation report and sentence. Sergeant Shanahan said? that about 5 p.m. that day ! the defendant had gone to the club, entered an office, | and, finding nobody about,! had taken a bag containing the money from behind a desk. He hid the property! down the front of his trou-l sers. !

He had later counted the money and removed some! for spending. The next day,! in the company of others, he had used $2OO to buy a motor vehicle. Sergeant Shanahan said $23 had been recovered, as had the vehicle. Compensation of $287 was sought. ASSAULT ON WOMAN A fish slicer, aged 29, who appeared charged with assaulting a woman, was con-

victed and remanded in custody to February 27 for a probation report and sentence. Alec Faafalasi Valoaga admitted the offence, which occurred on February 11. Sergeant Shanahan said the complainant’s shirt and jeans were ripped off by the defendant soon after he arrived at her flat just after midnight. The defendant, said Sergeant Shanahan, had hit the woman with a chair which had disintegrated, and had punched her with his clenched fist. He had then taken the complainant to his address where she had stayed the night. The complainant had suffered a swollen black right eye and numerous bruises to the body. FURTHER REMAND Two men who are jointly charged with an attempted robbery at the Springfield Hotel on February 12 were further remanded in custody without plea to February 27. They are Owen Francis McCauley, aged 37, and Sant Ram Shankar, aged 21, both machine operators. They are charged that while armed with a shotgun they attempted to rob the hotel licensee, Murray Roydon Alfred Carlyle.

ASSAULT CHARGE Russell David Coombes, aged 24, a linesman, was told by the Magistrate that “animal-like” behaviour would not be tolerated by society. He convicted and fined the defendant $75 on a charge of assault. Coombes, who pleaded guilty, was charged with assaulting the licensee of the Culverden Tavern, Colin Joseph Earl, on the night of December 21. The Court was told that the defendant had been asked to leave the hotel on three previous occasions before the night of the assault.

On December 21 he had charged at the complainant and grabbed him by the throat before being pulled off by bar patrons. He said he had a right to be there drinking with his friends. The defendant had earlier been drinking and did not recall grabbing the licensee, the Court was told. Before Mr J. S. Bisphan S.M.) RECEIVING OFFENCE On a charge of receiving electronic musical equipment valued at $l7OO, Neil Morrison, aged 19, was sentenced

to three months periodic detention. The person from whom Morrison received the equip, ment, Steven John Small aged 21, was sentenced to six months periodic detention. Both had earlier admitted the charges — Morrison receiving the equipment from Small, and Small receiving it from person or persons unknown. The Magistrate told the defendants that receiving was regarded as a serious offence and that if there were no receivers, there would be fewer burglaries and thefts