Man denies receiving

Press, 27 February 1980, Page 4

Man denies receiving

Nelson reporter

Many thousands of dollars worth of property alleged by the Crown to have becii in-

ceived by Christopher Kenneth Curtis after a series of) burglaries in the Nelson district, is slacked in the Supreme Court at Nelson.

Curtis, aged 23, an unemployed concrete worker, has denied before Mr ' Justice Quilliam ' and. a jury 10 charges of receiving the good’s stacked in the court room.

The value of the property has not been stated, but a witness said yesterday that the property in court represented only a small part of the total stolen in a series of burglaries. The amount stolen according to the depositions, was worth more than $33,000. Curtis is represented by Mr M. A. Bungay of Wellington, and Mr A. E. Webber. Mr C, J. McGuire of Wellington is appearing for the Crown. The charges allege that Curtis received from John Maurice Silke on various dates between February 19, 1979, and June 14, 1979, a variety of property. This comprised radial tyres, tools, clothing, electric drills, chain! saws, a variety of automo- 1

I tive equipment and a 1965 Chevrolet Impala car valued I at. $3500. Most of the. evidence on the first day’s hearing on Monday was from witnesses identifying property stolen in burglaries.

The Crown closed its case yesterday with the evidence of Detective Graham Stebbings who said that as a result of inquiries into" the burglaries, Curtis was watched and was seen to enter a garage in Stoke. The police later found the garage to contain all the exhibits in the courtroom, and the Chevrolet car. At first Curtis denied in any way being associated with the burglaries or with the garage, but later admitted to him that he had received the property knowing they had been stolen, said ’ itness. .

, Curtis had said he would not mind admitting he received the property but would not admit to having been involved in the burglaries.

Counsel will address the jury today and his honour will sum up.