CAR CONVERSION

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 153, 25 March 1937, Page 17

CAR CONVERSION

Practice “Becoming Very Prevalent” YOUNG MAN CONVICTED "Conversion of motor-vehicles is becoming very prevalent in this city: it is quite unsafe to leave a car or motorcycle about.” said Senior-Sergeant D. J. O’Neill in the Magistrate’s Court, Wellington, yesterday, when prosecuting Harvey Ashworth, aged 21, labourer, on a charge of converting to bis own use at Wellington on March 2.3 a motorcycle, valued at £l2-1, the property of Gerald Phillips. Accused, who pleaded not guilty, was not represented by counsel. He was convicted by Mr. E. D. Mosley. S.M., and placed on probation for 12 months, with the special condition that lie left Wellington if work could be secured for him elsewhere. The magistrate also warned him not to associate with undesirable characters, remarking- that he was accumulating a bad list. Gerald Phillips said he parked his motor-cycle in Vivian Street and at 2.15 p.m. discovered it was missing'. After going to the Taranaki Street police station he saw the machine in Manners Street with two persons on it. He chased it in a taxi, but could not overtake it. Later in the afternoon he again saw the two persons riding the machine, and this time overtook them. Accused, who was riding the motorcycle at first said it did not belong to witness, but on being shown a means of identification admitted it did. Accused gave as explanation that he h.ad permission from a man named Rice to borrow his motor-cycle, and had taken witness’s machine, one- of the same model, by mistake. Rice’s motor-cycle was usually parked just round the corner from that of witness. No Permission to Borrow.

Sidney Rice, a painter, said he knew accused, but. had never lent him his motor-cycle nor given him permission to take it. However, when questioned on Tuesday he said he had given )>vrinission, iu order to help accused out of trouble.

A statement to the police by accused was produced, in which he said he took a motor-cycle about 1.10 p.m. from Vivian Street. Fie was given permission by a Mr. Norman Smith to borrow his cycle, which was placed at the corner of Vivian and Tory Streets. He had borrowed Smith’s cycle before. A friend named Harold Lomax rode the machine and accused got on behind. When interviewed after Phillips had stopped the motor-cycle at Oriental Bay, Smith said he had given accused permission to take the cycle, but later said his machine was being repaired. Accused told the magistrate he had nothing ot add to his statement.