Youth acquitted

Press, 17 April 1980, Page 7

Youth acquitted

A jury in the High Court has found Wayne John Panapa, aged 19, a Borstal inmate not guilty on a charge of unlawfully entering a house in Palmers Road, New Brighton, on November 17, with intent to commit a crime. Mr Justice Roper discharged Palmer on the unlawful entry charge. The jury took 20 minutes to reach its verdict. Mr B. M. Stanaway appeared for the Crown which called three witnesses, and Mr G. E. Langham for Panwho was flown from Invercargill for the trial. The defence called no evidence. Evidence was given that Panapa was seen going into a number of houses in Wainoni and Palmers Roads. A constable watched him go into a property on Palmers Road and kept the place under observation for four minutes. On entering the property

the constable saw Panapa move from a doorway. Panapa claimed that he was looking for work but he had a job on a raspberry farm. Panapa . was wearing two pairs of trousers. In his address to the jury Mr Langham said that it was acknowledged that Panapa had gone on to the premises without an invitation, but the same applied to a person collecting for charity who, put a foot inside the door to see if anyone was home. It had not been proved that Panapa intended to commit a crime. As soon as he was approached he told the constable he was looking for work. Although Panapa had gone into a number of properties, no stolen articles were found on him. He knew he had been seen by one witness but he did not run off which indicated a lack of guilty intent, Mr Langham said.