Police find Town Hall safe still intact

Press, 10 May 1979, Page 7

Police find Town Hall safe still intact

Magistrate’s Court

Thieves, who stole a safe ; containing 82683 from the Christchurch Town Hall on I Sunday morning, never had' a chance to see the value of their haul before being caught. Although there were signs of attempts to open the safe, it was still locked when the police found it at a city house, Sergeant R. H. Prouting told the Magistrate’s Court yesterday. Gas cutters, apparently taken in another burglary earlier this year, were found nearby.

Terrence Carl Finch, aged ] 26, a painter, and Christ-1 opher William O’Grady, aged! 17. a shed-hand, both admit-|i ted breaking into the Town:; Hall on May 6. Mr F. G. Paterson. S.M., convicted and remanded them in custody without plea to May 16. Three other men charged : in connection with the same burglary also appeared. John 1 Daniel Douglas, aged 38, a cleaner, and Selwyn Warren Waaka, aged 27, a shearer, ; were also remanded in cus- i tody to the same date on a < charge of breaking and 1 entering. They did not enter a plea. Raymond James Olsen, i aged 37, a labourer, is ac- ; cused of receiving from 1 Finch and Waaka one safej: and its contents worth ah tota’ of $4983, the property!! of the Christchurch City!

: Council on May 7. He was demanded without plea to [May 16, allowed bail, and 'ordered to report daily to the police. Another man was still sought by the police in connection with the burglary, said Sergeant Prouting. The safe, worth $2300, and its contents, valued at $2683.' were removed from the Town Hall after the main door had been opened by a key. Finch and O’Grady helped to lift the safe in a car and O’Grady attempted Ito open the safe. later, the I

said. I When the police executed la search warrant on May 8 [they found the safe intact in a city house.

ENTERED HOUSES A youth who was apprehended because of fingerprints left at a burglary scene, also confessed to breaking into four other houses. Poe Tue Tue, aged 17, unemployed, yesterday pleaded guilty to five charges of breaking and entering houses between March 19 and April 24. Detective Sergeant N. T. Higgison said that a house in Salisbury Street was burgled on March 19 and more than $6OO worth of jewel- [ lery, clothing, radios and I photographic equipment was taken. i The defendant was inter-

viewed on May 1 after fingerprints had been compared. He admitted his part, but told the police he had since given away clothing he had take". He was co-operative and showed police other houses he had broken into with cooffenders, Detective Sergeant Higgison told the Court. Requesting bail, counsel (Mr D. J. Taffs) said that it was only because the defendant wished to make a clean breast of all matters that he faced four of the charges.

I Th? Magistrate remanded [the defendant on bail to 'May 16 for a probation officer’s report and sentence. FOR TRIAL Maiko Kaputone Pahi, who allegedly used raffle money to buy race horses, a Mercedes car and to support another company, was sent to the Supreme Court for trial on June 11. After the taking of depositions, Messrs M. B. Hayes and J. D. Diggs, Justices of the Peace, found that there was a prima facie case to ■ answer. i Pahi, aged 55, denied 43 charges relating to the running of raffles in Christchurch from August, 1974, to December, 1976. There [were six theft charges and 37 charges of fraud. BURGLARY CHARGE A young man charged with breaking and entering the Nuftield Free Kindergarten in New Brighton, with intent tc commit a crime, was remanded to May 16. Gavin James Thomas, aged 23, unemployed, allegedly committed the offence between March 16 and 18. He i » also charged with receiving a radio-controlled car, battery-operated toy dog and cassette recorder, the property of the kindergarten, knowing they had been dishonestly obtained. THEFT ALLEGED On alternative charges of stealing 20,000 cigarettes worth S6BO, Norman William Bradley, was remanded without plea to May 16. Bradley, aged 41, an unemployed painter. is charged with stealing the cigarettes from Brambles Freight Contractors on April 30, and receiving them on May 1, knowing that they had been dishonestly obtained. WOMEN CHARGED Two young women charged with breaking into a Caspian Street house be-

tween May 1 and 3 were remanded without plea to May 116. i Leez Dianne O'Connell, 'aged 20, a housewife, and Mary Geralyn Mac Harper, are jointly charged with the i offence. HORSE TAKEN A girl, who allegedly told police she was extremely fond of horses, admitted breaking into two stables and taking two horses on four different dates, Robyn Linda Glastonbury, aged 17, unemployed, also > pleaded guilty to being 'found without lawful excuse in an Armagh Street flat on April 21, and breaking into a house on March 20. She was convicted and remanded to May 16, for a probation officer’s report and sentence. The Magistrate said he proposed to remand the defendant in custody as she was a constant risk to the community. IMPORTING CHARGES Two charges against the manager ,of the importing company of Blaxall and Stevens Ltd, Graham Edmond Pilkington, aged 46, were further remanded to May 16. These allege that he was a party to the production of a false document relating to the importation of candles in 1976, and that he understated their value and the cost of importing the same goods.

On a third charge of importing goods for which he did not have an import licence, Pilkington was convicted and discharged on April 20.