Petty criminal jailed

Press, 25 February 1978, Page 7

Petty criminal jailed

; Once an associate of “bigtime” criminals, Thomas ; Robert Allingham had be- ; come an alcoholic and was now a pathetic and ineffectual figure reduced to petty crime, Mr Justice Somers was told in the Supreme Court yesterday. Allingham, aged 48, unemployed, was jailed for eight months on a charge of burglary of a house owned by P.D.L. Industries, Ltd, in Harman Street, on November 10. Evidence was given at Allingham’s trial that he and John Rangihuna broke into the unoccupied house soon; after hotel Closing time and: stoh two bedside cabinets,■ two electric heaters, and an' electric blanket. A neigh-; hour’s dog barked and alerted its owner, who tele-; phoned the police. Rangihuna and Allingham, were stopped by a police: patrol while driving in Bar-; rington Street, a short dis- ’ tance away. Allingham said

■ i that he had just hitched a I ;; ride in the car in Lincoln ■. Road. ;i Mr M. J. Glue, for Alling- ■ ham, said he had known the • prisoner since his school days. He had got in with the wrong company and after minor offending had graduated to more sophisticated crime and had been associated with big-time criminals. After becoming a chronic alcoholic, Allingham had drifted through life support- : ing himself by petty crime and was now a pathetic and i ineffectual figure who needed j help. This role in the burglary had been a very , minor ■ one. Rangihuna, the ringI leader, had pleaded guilty | and been jailed for sixi ; months. ; As usual, Allingham had: | been drinking heavily before ' j committing the offence. He" : was not a dangerous crim-; ; inal but more of a nuisance ! to society. When he had; i served terms of periodic de-

11 tention it had curbed his 11 drinking at week-ends, Mr ;Glue said. • i His Honour said that, i Allingham had a long record I of crime. Since he was 26 i Allingham had been sen- ■ fenced to a total of 16 years • imprisonment as well as i other sentences. “You really are incorrig- ■ ible, although I agree with counsel that your crimes : have diminished in seriousI ness in recent years and that • you are somewhat pathetic,” ■ said his Honour. I He was restricted in the I sentence which he could im- ■ pose because Allingham’s co- ■ offender had received onlv six months jail: but he could ■; not ignore Allingham’s prev- : i ions record and the depredations he had committed on H the-public, his Honour said. :' Allingham’s eight-month ■; jail term will be followed by ; a year’s probation, during ■; which he must live and work 1 where directed and take ■' out a prohibition order,