‘Business partnership’ in stolen cars—claim

Press, 7 October 1987, Page 12

‘Business partnership’ in stolen cars—claim

A witness in the District Court yesterday said he and Richard Jeffrey Barker had been in a “business partnership" earlier this year, involving the theft of cars and planned re-registration of the cars for sale, or wrecking for parts. After being stolen, the vehicles were driven to a house rented by the witness, on a farm near Darfield. The cars were worked on there. The shell of one car was burnt and dumped, according to evidence. Barker, aged 31, faced a preliminary hearing on 11 charges.

These were four of theft of motor vehicles, or alternatively unlawfully receiving these vehicles; two charges of unlawfully taking motor vehicles, and a charge of breaking and entering the warehouse premises of Vision Hire, Ltd, in Sydenham.

Messrs J. B. Graham and J. H. Christensen, Justices of the Peace, adjourned the hearing until today. Sergeant M. J. South prosecuted. Mr A. M. Mclntosh appeared for Barker. The value of the six vehicles involved in the charges was $35,500.

Evidence also was that 14 colour television sets were stolen in the burglary. Twelve of these were new, valued at $1450 each.

The charges involved alleged offences between January 22 and June 8. Alfred Robert Gillard, a flight steward, and Malvern County councillor, of Greendale, near Darfield, gave evidence of seeing from his property last June 7 a Cortina Mark 3 car drive past, towing a trailer on which was the burnt-out shell of a Toyota Corolla car. Thee days later he saw a story in “The Press” referring to the dumping of a burnt-out Toyota Corolla car, on the Hawkins dump at Darfield.

Three police were seeking information about a Cortina Mark 3 car.

Mr Gillard said he telephoned the Darfield and Christchurch police stations, advising them he believed he had seen the car they were seeking. Later that day, while driving home from work, he saw the same Cortina car, towing a trailer, being driven on the Bealey road, towards Charing Cross, skm from Greendale.

He noted the registration numbers of the car and trailer.

The witness gave evidence of seeing the car turn into another road. He turned and followed the car. The driver stopped and stood beside the car “giving the impression he was waiting for me.”

He identified Barker, in Court, as the driver.

Mr Gillard said he called at a farmhouse and telephoned the police, giving them the registration numbers of the car. He returned to the road and found the car had gone.

He tried to work out where the car had gone.

As he had seen the car the previous Sunday in the Dip Road area he believed it could have come from a tenanted house there.

He drove past and saw the Cortina in the driveway, and another Cortina hooked up on a trailer.

Mr Gillard drove to a neighbour’s house and telephoned the police.

The witness said that two days before he first saw the Cortina, he had seen from his property “quite a volume” of dark smoke coming from the property in Dip Road, which was tenanted by a man named Kevin.

He told of various other vehicles he has seen at or outside this property during the previous two or three months.

Kevin James Lane, a maintenance mechanic, ( now of Shannon, said he had rented the property in Dip Road, Greendale.

He said he had been sentenced in the District Court in July on charges of unlawfully taking a

van, and a car, both from Hutchinson Motors, the theft of a car belonging to an Ashburton man, and burglary of the Vision Hire warehouse in Sydenham.

He said he had rented the Dip Road property alone. Barker was with him the day the police arrived and found a number of vehicles at the property.

The witness detailed his taking various cars from city car sales premises and elsewhere, in association with Barker, who then followed him to the Dip Road property. Engine and chassis numbers were removed from some vehicles, and Lane told of Barker’s grinding down a car’s chassis number plate and then restamping it. The engine was done in similar fashion, the number being ground off and Barker stamped it with Xs “to ensure the D.S.I.R. could not get the old numbers back up again.” Referring to one vehicle, a red Cortina, the witness said he removed this car’s engine.

Barker had told him he was going to put this engine into his own (blue) Cortina Mark 4 car.

Barker had put the serial number on that engine. “I was present when that was done. I remember it because Richard had worn his fingers out with a file getting it flat,” Lane said.

Referring to his burglary of Vision Hire, Lane said he had broken into the building after Barker said he had checked it out. / Barker did not enter the building, but acted as lookout and accompanied him on trips to a house in Sydenham and helped unload the television sets. Several trips were made.

Cross-examined, Lane said he worked in Christchurch while renting the property at Greendale. He travelled to and from work daily. He had rented the property for accommodation.

He had used, variously three cars and a motor-

cycle to travel to work. One of the cars was stolen.

Asked how the association came about in which he alleged the two had stolen cars and driven them to the Dip Road property, Lane said he had known Barker previously.

Barker had suggested to him that they could make some money out of the cars.

This was a business partnership, he said. He agreed there had been disagreements between them on occasions. They arose from Barker’s never really telling him what was going on. Barker would say: “Here’s a key, let’s go and steal this car. I have plates and papers for it"

Asked if any money had changed hands between them, Lane said none had, because none of the cars got sold.

The witness said there was no arrangement for him to keep any of the cars.

Under the arrangement they had, the stolen Cortina cars were to have been sold and the money divided equally between them.

He was to have received half the ( proceeds from the red Toyota, which he burnt, after taking the engine out for Barker to sell.

He remembered telling Barker he did not want the car at his property, but at Barker’s insistence he took it there “because I was already up to my eyeballs in it.”

He said at least five cars were involved. Also, quite a bit of stuff, mainly car parts and equipment, was taken from Barker’s house to his property.

Lane said he had no part in re-registering any of the vehicles.

He said he had rented the property at Greendale under the name, Lang.

Asked if he and Barker already had fallen out by the time of the police raid, Lane said he already had mentioned disagreements they had had.