‘Spaceman’ guilty of conspiracy

Press, 18 May 1984, Page 7

‘Spaceman’ guilty of conspiracy

After deliberating for four hours, a jury in the High Court yesterday found Alexander James Henderson, aged 30, unemployed, guilty on two charges arising from an aborted plan for the armed hold-up of the Opawa Post Office on superannuation pay-out day. Mr Justice Roper remanded him in custody to May 24 for sentence. Henderson was found guilty of conspiring with Barry John Wiki to commit aggravated robbery and with having his face masked with intent to commit robbery. Mr N. W. Williamson appeared for the Crown and

Mr P. N. Dyhrberg for Henderson. Evidence was given that Henderson and Wiki set off on a stolen motor-cycle to rob the Opawa Post Office. Henderson, who looked like a spaceman, was dressed in a blue crash helmet, a black balaclava with the eye piece sown up in the centre, gloves and two pairs of jeans. They rode past the post office three times before returning to the address in Stevens Street from where they had set out. They were followed by an unmarked police car containing detectives.

On entering the property, they rode into the back yard

and tumbled off the machine when it hit some armchairs. Henderson was found to have a gas-oper-ated pistol hidden down the front of his jeans. It did not work because the gas cylinder was exhausted. Henderson told the police that Wiki had persuaded him to go along and stay with the motor-cycle with the engine running while Wiki carried out the robbery. After the verdict was delivered, Mr Justice Roper told the jury that this was not Henderson’s first appearance in Court and that he had convictions for theft, burglary and cultivating cannabis.