‘Nuisance to society’ gets year in jail

Press, 5 July 1978, Page 10

‘Nuisance to society’ gets year in jail

A middle-aged man, described as having the longest list of convictions the Magistrate had seen, was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment by Mr P. J. McAloon, S.M., in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday. George Patrick Shannon, aged 39. was convicted last week of stealing $3O worth of tools from the garage of St John’s Anglican Church on April 3. He told the police he intended selling the tools to get money to buy drink. Shannon’s convictions include about 40 for drunkenness. “You are at the stage where your offending has become a nuisance to society, and the only recourse is prison,” said the Magistrate. Shannon’s counsel (Mr E. H. Parsons) said his client had told him not to say anything on his behalf. During the Magistrate’s remarks Shannon kept up a constant conversation, half with himself, half with the 'Magistrate. VICAR’S OFFICE BURGLED On a charge of burgling the office of the vicarage of St John’s Church, and stealing $ll5 in cash from a drawer, Laurie Tipene Panapa, aged 23, was sentenced to periodic detention for six months and ordered to pay compensation. Panapa was placed on probation for 12 months, and ordered to take treatment for drug abuse. The Magistrate said it was a particularly mean type of theft, especially so because minutes earlier the defendant had been a member of the church’s congregation. When convicted last week, Panapa said he had been “high” on drugs, and had been “desperately in need of money.”

Counsel (Mr C. D. Eason) said Panapa had been out of trouble for about two years and that the offence had occurred when he was out of work. When employed he stayed out of trouble. Since his offence the defendant had obtained regular employment again, and had associated himself with a church in the city which provided him with counselling and continuing help. (Before Mr F. G. Paterson, S.M.) THEFT CHARGE A man. aged 31, charged with stealing various sums of

money totaling $4OOO from his employers, was remanded on bail of $lOOO to July 11. The man, whose name was suppressed in the interim, is alleged to have committed the offences between March 30 and June 30. REFRIGERATOR HUNT Albert Kaye, aged 39, a machinist, and Christine Sue Ann Dowey, aged 17, a housewife, were convicted on a joint charge of unlawfully entering a building. They were remanded to July 11 for sentence. Sergeant G. C. Jones said about 3 a.m. on June 22 the couple went to a house in Montrose Street, which they knew to be unoccupied. They needed a refrigerator for their flat, and knew of one in the house. However, their efforts to remove the refrigerator on a pram were noticed by neighbours, and the pair were apprehended outside the house. At first Kaye and Dowey alleged that they were past tenants of the address, and that the refrigerator belonged to them, but later they admitted the theft.