Man remanded for ‘magpie’ thefts

Press, 22 August 1978, Page 7

Man remanded for ‘magpie’ thefts

A 49-year-old former storeman who admitted three; cnarges of theft as a servant 1 and four of receiving, in-1 vulvtng goods to a value of i SloOO, was convicted and re-j manded to September 4, for a probation report and sen-! t.nce when he appeared before Mr J. S. Bisphan, S.M.,' in the Magistrate’s Court: yesterday. The man, who was grant-! ed interim suppression of his name, was allowed bail of $750. together with a surety of the same amount, and was ordered to report! daily to the police. Detective Sergeant J. J.! Chadderton said that between April, 1977, and July this year the defendant was employed as a storeman by! a Christchurch firm and that! his duties included the receipt of all inbound goods! and their dispatch. In June and July this year! a number of items were found missing and a search warrant was executed at the defendant’s address. The police found a tool box, four! chairs and a table, tubular stands containing clothing, 11 pairs of jeans, 81 pairs of nylons, four hrndbags and 5 some woollen jerseys. The items stolen from his! employer had amounted to* 51565, while the value of the goods which the defendant, had admitted receiving was! On the receiving charges Detective Sergeant Chadder-1

ton said the defendant told' ; the police that the goods; ‘had been provided by a friend whom he had declined i i to identify. j The defendant admitted having taken things from; the firm since about 1975.1 He could offer no explanation for his actions, I said Detective Sergeant : Chadderton. RECE’. ‘ING CHARGES John Thomas Dungey, aged 36, a watersider, was remanded to September 11, for a defended hearing, when he appeared on one charge of thef, and four of receiving. The alleged receiving of-1 i fences, which occurred at) Lyttelton in June and July, I i involve children’s jeans, three bolts of cloth, a type-) (writer, and a 21-piece tea; I service to a total value of ) about 5550. The charge of theft relates 'to a box of car fuses and) two pairs of children’s shoes) to a total value of SI7. ARMS CHARGE A footwear maker, aged! 21. was remanded without) :plea on bail of $5OO with al surety of S5OO when he ap-1 peare’d on a charge laid! under the Arms Act. • Michael David Kane was : charged with being unlawfully in possession of a !sawn-off 410 gauge shotgun on August 21. Bail was not opposed by iDetctive Sergeant Chadder-

;ton, but he said, a substan- : itial surety was sought. Kane is due to appear in court I again on August 28. ; I ICE-CREAM SOUGHT Three young men, each of ;whom had been charged : (with attempting to steal $5 i worth of ice-cream from the I General Foods Corporation, 1 Ltd, earlier this month, were : convicted and remanded to September 4 for probation ; reports and sentence. : Bail of $5OO was allowed < for Paul George McDonald, aged 17, a car cleaner, Mark i Anthony Chesmar, aged 17, : a concrete, worker, and Paul ! Francis Wright, aged 17, unemployed. Detective Sergeant Chad- i jderton said Chesmar and < i Wright had gone to the ! (premises of the General 1 : Foods Corporation where, Iwhile Chesmar had acted as I I a lookout, Wright had; (broken four locks on a truck); in an attempt to get some 11 (ice-cream. I, Counsel (Mr N. C. Chap-1 Iman) said that the three)) [youths had spen. the day at h [the Waimakariri River andl( [that while returning to the [ city they had decided to , I have some ice-cream for tea. ) [One of the group had sug- , Igested that they pilfer a ’ small quantity from the ) General Foods Corporation,!, he said. [ ‘ (Before Mr F. G. Paterson, I S.M.) s FALSE PRETENCE (i On four charges of false it

pretence involving $4OO, Raymond Bremner Fryer was sentenced to six months periodic detention. In addition he was released on probation for 18 months; a special condition of which was that he undertake treatment for his alcoholism and that he pay $5O in compensation. In July the defendant had presented four cheques from a stolen cheque book, to a city menswear firm from which he had obtained clothing to a value of $320, and' $BO cash, the Court was told last week. Counsel (Mr R. J. Murfitt) said that the offences were committed because the defendant had no money and because his unemployment) benefit had been late. BURGLED SHOP Graeme Eric Waites, aged; [2B, unemployed, was sentenced to five months! I periodic detention and I (placed on probation for 17) [months when he appeared) for sentence on a charge of) I burglary. Waites last week admitted breaking and entering the ! shop premises of Ogilvies Company, Ltd, in Tuam Street, on July 15, from (where 11 chain saws, valued 1 jat. $5500, were taken. ! Counsel (Mr R. J. Murfitt) 1 [said that Waites was an al- , Icoholic and submitted that. I at the time of the offences :

he had a diminished respon-l sibility. Prior to the offence; he had an argument with his I girlfriend and had been! drinking. The Magistrate ordered: Waites to abstain from alcohol and to take treatment! for the disease. TOOK TV SET A shunter, aged 28, was) convicted and fined $l5Ol when he appeared for sen-! tence on a charge of stealing' a portable television set val|ued at $5OO. I The Magistrate told John-1 ny Kupa that there was no! reason for the theft and to! make sure it never happened; again. TOOK CARS I Richard Charles Norman, [aged 17, unemployed, was | told by the Magistrate that he was “heading for a custodial sentence” with such repeated offending. I Norman was last week; (convicted on eight charges lof unlawfully taking vehicles, [and one charge of unlawfully interfering with a vehicle. I The Magistrate sentenced j Norman to five months' periodic detention and released him on probation for; 17 months with the special [ provision that for the next; nine months he was not to! own or use a motor vehicle except as a passenger. Norman was also dis-; qualified from holding or ob-: taining a driving licence fori nine months.