Man remanded on charge of armed robbery

Press, 19 December 1989, Page 18

Man remanded on charge of armed robbery

The man alleged by the police to have committed the armed robbery of the Merivale branch of the Totalisator Agency Board on Saturday appeared in the District Court yesterday. The defendant, Nathan Horua, aged 34, unemployed, faced charges of robbing an employee of the branch of $l7OO, when armed with an air pistol, and of unlawfully taking a utility vehicle valued at $25,000, belonging to Woolston Foundry, Ltd, on or about December 15. Judge Erber remanded Horua in custody until tomorrow, without plea. Defence counsel, Mr Peter Dyhrberg, in seeking a remand without plea, asked the police’s attitude to bail. Sergeant Pat Creasey detailed reasons for the police’s strong opposition to bail. They included the serious nature of the offences Horua faced. CHEQUE CHARGES A woman faced 36 charges of false pretence and one of attempted false pretence, involving in all nearly $6OOO, by the issue of valueless cheques. All but seven of the cheques were alleged to have been used by the defendant, Alarna Vera Barr, aged

26, a solo mother, to obtain groceries from various city and suburban supermarkets during September, October and November, and one in April. Other cheques were allegedly issued to obtain hardware, footwear, liquor and other goods, and the attempted false pretence charge involved a cheque for liquor worth $149.65. Barr was remanded on bail, without plea, to January 8 on these charges and for two other offences to which she had pleaded guilty. These were of possessing cannabis, and being a party to the burglary of business premises in Lyttelton. 9 MONTHS JAIL Counsel for a young man imprisoned yesterday for various offences said the most positive support the defendant had had in his lifestyle was the Mongrel Mob. Mr Robert Murfitt said the defendant, Leonard George Matchitt, aged 20, had a lamentable background, having lost his mother at an early age, and had little other support. Drug abuse had affected his life but a Maori support group had “adopted” him and taken care of him to the best of its ability. Mr Murfitt sought a sentence of

periodic detention and supervision for Matchitt’s offences. On a charge of unlawfully taking a car Matchitt was jailed for nine months. He received concurrent prison terms of a month each on charges of theft, resisting a constable, and committing a breach of bail. For driving in a dangerous manner he was convicted and disqualified from driving for six months and he was convicted and discharged for failing to stop for an enforcement officer. The Judge noted that Matchitt had been before the Court four times in the last year for offences involving dishonesty. STOLE CASH Six months periodic detention was imposed on Ratana George West, aged 23, unemployed, when he appeared for sentence on a charge of theft of $4OO from the Regal Lounge late on the evening of November 10. The money had been snatched from a receptionist while she was counting it, after West and an associate had approached her and asked for money. The term of periodic detention also covered West’s non-payment of court fines from previous offences.