Lifer admits bank burglary

Press, 17 June 1988, Page 7

Lifer admits bank burglary

A man serving a life sentence for murder was yesterday said in the District Court to have been the main instigator in the burglary of the Darfield branch of the Bank of New Zealand, from which a safe containing $32,000 was stolen on March 27, 1986. After several witnesses, including co-offenders in the burglary, had given evidence, the defendant, Bruce Allan Rooke, aged 23, a prison inmate, changed his plea to guilty to iZ ihe burglary charge. The charge was that joiritl’y with Andrew James Wood and Stuart James Lawson he broke and' entered the Bank ( of New Zealand, at Darfield, with) intent to commit a crime. Rooke, represented by Mr P. H. B. Hall, originally had denied the charge, which was set down for a defended hearing yesterday. Sergeant P. R. Mayo prosecuted.

Upon the plea of guilty, Judge Hattaway imposed a sentence of six months imprisonment, to be served concurrently with Rooke’s present sentence of life imprisonment Rooke was sentenced to life imprisonment in the High Court in Christchurch last September after his conviction on a charge of the murder of Dennis Drinkwater at the Mogal Bin Services depot, Sockburn, in February, 1987. Two other men charged with him also are serving life sentences. Rooke’s co-offenders in the bank burglary already have appeared before the Court. .. Both were sentenced to terms of periodic detention and ordered to pay restitution of their share of the proceeds from the burglary. Prosecution evidence was given that Rooke approached Stuart James Lawson in March, 1986, about burgling the bank in

Darfield. About a week before the burglary, Rooke, Lawson and another man went to Darfield to look at the bank. They decided against burgling the Trusteebank as the safe was too big and they would have difficulty getting it out. They looked at the Bank of New Zealand across the road, and entered the building from the rear. Rooke walked through to the front and out again to see if any alarm was set off, and they listened to the police radio link to hear if any police were called to the bank. TheyjjMso watched to see if Anybody arrived. Nobody did. They then returned to the bank, and checked the safes and tilted one that was in view of the bank’s front window to test its weight. They left the bank, locking it up as they did. The next morning

Rooke said he would not be taking the third person on the job. Andrew Wood was asked and agreed to take JpartOn the night of the burglary, Rooke and Lawson went to the Riccarton Council yards and took a truck with a crane on it, and drove to Darfield. Lawson drove the truck and Wood drove a car with two women in it. Rooke drove a van. A trailer was dropped off along a back road. Rooke and Lawson entered the bank as they had done previously, and Rooke checked to see if an alarm was activated. They returned 30 minutes later and set about moving the safe to the back door. Pipe rollers cut up previously were used to move it. In place of the safe, Rooke put a wooden replica, which he had made. The dummy safe had “Chump” written on it and looked genuine.

Wire ropes were put round the safe and it was hoisted on to the truck and driven to the back road, where it was loaded on to the trailer. The truck was left behind, and the car and trailer taken back to Rooke’s address in Milton Street, Spreydon. Gas cutting gear was used the next day to open the safe in the driveway. The day after the safe was opened it was taken to Kaiapoi and dumped in the river off the main wharf where the M. V, Tuhoe was anchored. The door of the safe was cut off and dumped in Lyttelton Harbour. The Judge said, when imposing the six months prison sentence, that on the evidence he perceived Rooke to have been the instigator, and primary person involved in the burglary. Rooke had a very large number of previous convictions for burglaries and other offences of dishonesty, the Judge said.