BURGLARS AT WORK

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 192, 8 May 1908, Page 7

BURGLARS AT WORK

r ' ; : AUCKLAND INCIDENTS. ' ; ' DESPERATE FICHT IN A BEDROOM . , j SHERLOCK HOLMES WANTED. :l [BY . TELEGRAPH.—SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.] Auckland, May 7. - 1 "Bill Sykes," the merry burglary is as \ j, busy in Auckland just now as he would ap-' pear to bo in- Wellington. In addition to tho cases I have already recorded, two more , V. hive now. to be added to the list. Tho r .worst feature of. the occurrences is that the : crimes arc undetected, and a "Sherlock '' Holmes would seem to be badly needed. ir MUST HAVE 'BEEN' SHADOWED. : The foljowing is an account of a desperate encounter that would make a good scene • in.a melodrama Gerald Hell, a hatter' carrying on business in Karaingahape Road, I and residing with his mother' in Randolph Strqetj jN.owton, was walking .down Pitt Street' . on his way . home, at about .11 o'clock on .. Tuesday night, when he dropped a . bag of - silver .which he. was carrying, and, picking •. it .up again, put it in his pocket. The ! j. incident was evidently noticed, judging by what followed.' ■ ... , \ ' Vi. On reaching home, Mr. Bell lit a candle,' and went , into his bedroom, where he counted ... .out; the icash lie had in his possession, and put £27,.iii notes ill a pocket-book on the dressing-table,. £9 ; 10s. in gold'in his waist--5' coat-pocket, .and; tho bag of silver, amount- , ing to £3 175., in his coat pocket. \ " ; ; As the house was only, being temporarily .-. occupied, there ivere no curtains on tho bed- . room window, and consequently'anything that ' . was. dono inside could be observed'from the ■■■ outside.' Mr. Bell,- however, did not notice l '. anything; and went into tho dining-room, .where ho had some supper. . Ho afterwards •*. jvent* outside for a few minutes, and when 10 lie returned'did. not lock the back door, as . ie 'he expected his brother to come in later. v - > !y MAN WITH A BULLSEYE APPEARS. Ie ■■•" v'-ri'' 1 ■' ■■■. '' 1 ; ( -Mr. . Bell-then went to. ,bed, and in aboufc a twenty minutes' time, when ho was half m , asleep, he heard the door, creak. ■ On look)r ing in .that direction, ho was startled to sea _ a a man 'carrying'" a bullsoye .lantorn. The man made direct for the dressing-table. \ Considerably, alarmed, Mr. Bell leaped out of bed to grasp something heavy for his ' , protection, but the intruder must havo heard ~ him,, for ho immediately pounced upon Mr.-: ■Bell,;.and,struck him a violent blow upon id tho v chiri,' apparently with 1 the: lantern. He it had evidently tracked Mr. Bell home, and ■ r-' had watched the' proceedings from tho out,side... Ho now proceeded to rifle Mr. Bell's vest, d Mr.. Bell, though considerably dazed by,-the blo\v,'. got ,up and grappled with tho man, at .'tho same .time, calling out for assistance. ' ■■ :Tho'intruder endeavoured'to muffle him, but, ; not succeeding in doing so, and hearing steps in passage—Mr. Bell's mothor had: been . 0 aroused by tho noise—immodiately pushed up tho, window, and, leaping through,, got clear ° away.' . v • Subsequent investigation.showed that tfio ' 6 pocket-book, with the £27 m it, was.missing. None of tho other money, however, had' been touched. The matter was. reported." to the ; : Newton police, who , aro. making inquiries. . describes his 'assailant as v ,>a l( a Woll-sotTman, with a clean-shaven iaco'.'i'l'ho ■'V only .''cluo- left bolnnd .is-.-s{jo^;imprintf® i of , i» ; rubber-hocled-boot on the lloor. •• < 1 . .WHOLESALE REMOVAL OF GOODS. V < . The . latest burglary occurred the other ■ ? night at Grey Lynn;* when; a grocery store, owned by Mr. J. F. Potter, on the Great , ' North Road, was broken v into, and a cartload' 3 of coods and valuables was removed. On - l; . Saturday evening, after fthb -' completion of business, Mr.' v Potter locked up premises" \ as ,usual at\9.3op!m. He. is certain every- ' 1 thing was intact. ? " Mr. Potteil lives above tho shop, and. during the night he heard nothing to warrant ■ suspicion that anything out ot: tho . common was happening; On Sunday, afternoon, hbwover, lie had occasion to go into tho store-' ! . room,-and his attention was attracted to the-fact that, since lie locked up on the . I" previous evening, nocturnal visitors had been j busy.- A hurried examination revealed the [ .fact that goods had l been carried off in,/a f .wholesale, •'fashion,' and ■ that, i,the' ! intruders . ■ t had."made:ia ;haul, of :very considerable ,ex- - i -tent-'Y'' V 5 .Iho police wero immediately communicated [ with, but investigation, only proved tho rob- . l bery to have been a 1 very clover one, and 1 the w'hole affair remains shrouded in mys- 'I i tferjr... When. Mr., Potter ■entered the storeroom; the'dbor -was-, locked-in tho ordinary ; wayy -and there.- was no evidence of an entrance having been olfocted by force. ' That the goods wero there .when tho premises were v locked up. the previous evening he iyabso- . ; liitely ccrtain,. yet heavy cases of groceries and goods'weighing as much as a hundredweight have disappeared. ; . •. ■ > ■ . >. It is, evident.that a cart or vehicle of some kind .was • omployed in., the removal of- the ■: goods, but no clue .remains of what appears • ;to. have been .a particularly audacious robbery. .'; " * ' A CONVENT ROBBED. 1 . [B'T . TELEGRAPH.—ritESS ASSOCIATION.] :.. . ■' Auckland, May 7. ' .i- It was_ reported to-night that burglars ha( visited St. Joseph's Convent at Grey Lynj : and had stolen £5 in'cash. . . 1 . - ■ — J -