ACCUSED MAN FAINTS

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 286, 30 August 1935, Page 7

ACCUSED MAN FAINTS

Darlinghurst Robbery defendants remanded (Received August 29, 7.30 p.m.) Sydney, August 29. In the Police Court Kenneth O’Connell, aged 31, plasterer, whs charged with stealing £690 belonging to John Wilson and Thomas Croft, aged 30, mechanic, was charged with assaulting Wilson and stealing the same money. Excitement was caused when Croft swooned in the court. The Police prosecutor asked that the charge against O'Connell be merged into the charge-against Croft. After hearing counsel the magistrate discharged O’Connell on the stealing charge and both defendants were remanded on bail.

Subsequently Muriel O’Connell, aged 30, was charged with assaulting and robbing Wilson. She was also remanded. The police alleged that she took a large part in planning the robbery.

A cable dated August 7 stated: —A daylight robbery of a sum of about £6OO. which was being carried in a leather bag. was perpetrated in one of the busiest byways of Darlinghurst. - Pepper was thrown in the face of a man carrying the money, which is reported to be the savings of John Wilson, who had decided to buy two taxicabs in order to provide himse.f with employment. Wilson and Kenneth O’Connell, the latter being a car agent for a city firm, left a bank with the money. They were walking to a motorcar when the bandit accosted them, threw, pepper, seized the bag from O’Connell and ran away. Scaling a high fence, the bandit dropped into a vacant allotment and disappeared. A number of people witnessed the affair. A further cable the following day stated 'that O’Connell was charged with having stolen £690, the property of John Wilson. Detective Boswell said that it had been stated that the defendant and Wilson, when carrying money from a bank, had been confronted by another man who threw pepner in O’Connell’s eyes, assaulted Wilson, and made off with the money. The police aVeged that O'Connell was in the plot, and actually did no* receive any pepper in his eyes. Defend ant was remanded Bail was allowed tn the sum of £lOOO.