VERDICT OF GUILTY

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 195, 15 May 1936, Page 15

VERDICT OF GUILTY

Case of Breaking and Entering A DETECTIVE’S CHASE After a retirement of half an hour a jury brought in a verdict of guilty in a case heard in the Supreme Court. Wellington, vesterday afternoon, before Mr. Justice Blair, in which William Murnhy was charged with breaking and entering a beauty salon in Manners Street, Wellington, occupied bv Miss Clare Rosiua Maitland. Accused was remanded for sentence. The Crown case was presented by Mr. C. Evans Scott, and accused was represented by Mr. P. Verschaffelt. The ease was, the Crown alleged, one of those rare ones in which the accused was caught red-handed, said Mr. Scott in outlining the case for the Crown. The premises entered were those of the Ritz Beauty Salon in Manners Street. About 1 a.m. on January 28 last. Detectives Ritchie and Brosnan were driving along Manners Street, and when they passed the salon they saw accused standing on the footpath and noticed that he appeared to be looking up and down the street. Their suspicions were aroused, and they proceeded on round the block. On arrival back accused was missing. The door to the salon was shut but not locked. On entering they saw three men. including two who had pleaded guilty and had been sentenced. Inside the salon there was a row of cubicles, and when the detectives entered accused was seen to look out from one cubicle fl.t the furthest end of the row. Detective Ritchie went to the door for assistance, and when he returned accused had moved to another cubicle nearer the door. Accused rushed past and out into the street, but Detective Ritchie gave chase and after a struggle eventually arested accused, and took him back to the salon. Giving evidence for the defence, Lawrence James Wacey, and John Joseph Morris, both of whom are at present ■ prisoners nt Nit. Crawford jail, having pleaded guilty to breaking and entering the beauty salon, said accused was not in the building until brought in by the detectives. Both said they had not sees accused for a week. They had gained entrance through a fan-light, and the only reason why Wacey had opened the door on to Manners Street was to see whether there was anyone about, and not to let accused in.