Man admits unrelated assaults on same day

Press, 21 July 1988, Page 17

Man admits unrelated assaults on same day

One man suffered a broken cheekbone for which surgery would be required, and another man punched and kicked by Martin Peter Wilson, aged 21, suffered bruising, lacerations and a bleeding kidney, said Sergeant Max South in the District Court yesterday. Wilson, a forecourt attendant (Mr N. J. Dunlop), admitted assaulting Ronald Bruce Gubb on June 24 and Murray William Jackson later the same day. He was convicted by Judge Frampton and remanded to August 3 for sentence.

Victim impact reports on the two complainants were called for by the Judge. Sergeant South said the two assaults were unrelated.

Ronald Gubb, aged 15, was walking a puppy along the street when it ran off on to the defendant’s property. The boy shouted some abusive remarks at the puppy which Wilson believed were intended for him.

He ran after the boy, held him and abused him. The boy was punched and kicked and knocked to the ground by Wilson.

The other assault occurred at the end of a party, after a dispute over three jugs which Wilson was attempting to. take away. The complainant

told Wilson to leave them whereupon Wilson punched him. As a result of the assault the complainant, Murray Jackson, had a cheekbone broken in three places for which surgery would be required, said Sergeant South. CONVERTED ROLLER Compensation of $4OOO was sought from two men charged with converting a $30,000 steam roller at Pigeon Bay on April 1. David William Palmer, aged 20, an apprentice cabinetmaker (Mr J. S. Halls), and Tony John Utteridge, aged 19, an apprentice boat builder (Mr Rogers), admitted the offence. Sergeant South said Utteridge got on the machine, the property of Hobson Contractors, which was in a paddock. He pulled out some wires from under the dashboard and started the engine but could not get it to move. Palmer then got behind the wheel but drove the roller into a tree when he was unable to stop it. As a result the roller had to be transported to a repair shop for an overhaul which cost $4OOO, said Sergeant South.

The sum of $2OOO was sought from each defendant, he said.

The Judge questioned whether the charge

should have been one ofunlawfully interfering with the roller rather than converting it. Rather than enter a conviction, Judge Frampton said he would adjourn the case to July 27 to enable the defendants to see if they could arrange compensation. If a satisfactory arrangement could be made then, he said, consideration woulld be given to a discharge: without conviction.

FORGERY OFFENCE A woman who forged an emergency Social Welfare Department cheque and then attempted to persuade a shopkeeper to accept it as genuine, was convicted and remanded in custody to August 3 for sentence.

Diane Iris Palermo, aged 25, unemployed (Mr D. J. Taffs), admitted the offences, which occurred on July 12. Sergeamt South said the defendant had gone into a Christchurch department store where she selected baby clothes to a value of $363. She told the shop assistant to hold the goods and that she would return later in the day to pick them up and pay for them.

Palermo went to the Social Welfare Department for assistance to pay for the baby clothes and was given a cheque, which she then altered at the store.

Sergeant South said Palermo had been jailed in February for offences of fraud but was granted early release in June. The Judge questioned the early release of regular offenders, such as Palermo, who after leaving prison so often reoffended, causing still more work for the police. Mr Taffs said his client, who was pregnant at the time, was released from prison on June 30. She had her baby the next day. ASSAULT CHARGES Because of police concern for the safety of the complainant, bail was opposed for a man charged with assaulting her on-two occasions. Grant Laurence Simon, aged 33, a sickness beneficiary, was remanded in custody to July 27. He is alleged to have assaulted the woman on July 18 and 19. A duty solicitor, Mr S. O’Neill, said the charges would, he was instructed, be vigorously denied.