CARS CONVERTED

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 270, 11 August 1938, Page 8

CARS CONVERTED

Young Men’s Journey From | Auckland

SAFE STOLEN IN NAPIER

The story of a journey by two young men from Auckland, through Taupo, to Napier, Wairarapa, and finally to Wellington in motor-cars alleged to have been unlawfully converted was described by Detective-Sergeant P. Doyle in the Magistrates’ Court, Wellington, yesterday, when Andrew Janies Stott, labourer, aged 19, and Phillip George Karaitiana, labourer, aged 21, appeared on four charges of unlawful conversion of motor-cars, two charges of breaking and entering, and one charge of theft. Mr. W. C. Harley, S.M., was on the bench. Both accused pleaded guilty and were committed to the Supreme Court for sentence.

The charges were that, on or about July 23, at Greytown, they converted a motor-car valued at £250, the property of Charles Jew Jensen; on or about July 20, at Port Ahuriri, Napier, they converted a motor-car valued at- £lOO, the property of Charles Chattanach; on July 21, at Waipukurau, they converted a motor-car valued at £360, the property of Francis Robertson McWilliam; on or about July 23, at Kuripuni, Masterton, they converted a motor-van valued at £l5O, the property of Goldingham and Beckett, on or about July 20 at Port Ahuriri, Napier, they broke and entered the office of the Shell Oil Company and stole a safe and its contents of a total value of £lOB/5/-, the property of the Shell Oil Company; on July 24, at Wellington, they broke and entered the shop of the Self Help Company, Ltd., Riddiford Street, and committed theft; on or about July 19, at Tapapa, they stole a quantity of petrol and one oil drum, of a total value of £2/16/9, the property of Bertram Francis Whitwell. Trip Described. On July 18, about 9 p.in., both accused, alleged the detective-sergeant, went into a private motor garage at Auckland and unlawfully converted a motor-car whieh was in the garage. They left Auckland in this car, heading for Napier. When they reached Tirau. they broke open several bowser pumps and stole about 22 gallons of petrol, putting 10 into the petrol tank of the car and 12 into an empty drum which they took from a shed near the bowsera. These bowsers were the property of Bertram Francis Whitwell, and the value of the petrol and the drum was £2/16/9, and the damage done was valued at 6/-. From there they drove on to Port Ahuriri, where they arrived on July 20. On that night they broke into the depot of the Shell Oil Company at Port Ahuriri, and stole the safe and contents, the safe being valued at £3, and the contents at £lO5/5/-. The safe was later recovered at Poukawa in a damaged condition, and cheques valued at £lOl/16/and 17/6 in silver recovered. The motor-car unlawfully converted from Auckland was recovered outside the premises of the Shell Oil. Company at Port Ahuriri, and another motor-car, tho property of Charles Chattanach was unlawfully removed from his private garage at Port Ahuriri. This car was used, to convey the safe to Poukawa, 34 miles from Port Ahuriri, where, the safe was rppftvpr-pd-In thfc car the accused travelled south, and on the night of July 21, De-tective-Sergeant Doyle said, they attempted to get petrol from a bowser pump at Takapau, but were unsuccessful. He said they damaged this pump to the extent of 7/6. Alleged Theft of Petrol.

'They then drove to South Norsewood in this car, he continued, and there broke open a petrol pump and stole five gallons of petrol valued at 10/10. This petrol was pumped into the stolen car. From there they drove on to Waipukurau, where they abandoned this car. Here they unlawfully converted another motorcar, the property of Francis Robertson McWilliam. This was on the night of July 21. They drove to Masterton in this car and there abandoned it. On the night of Friday, July 22, they unlawfully converted a motor-van, the property of Goldingham and Beckett, from Masterton, and in this drove to Greytown, and later to Tauberenikau, where it was abandoned. On the same night they also unlawfully converted a motor-car, the property of Charles Jew Jensen, Greytown. In this they drove to Wellington, arriving here on Saturday night, July 23. During that night they broke and entered the store of the SelfHelp in Riddiford Street, and there committed the theft of cigarettes and stores, valued at £4/6/5. At 2.45 a.m. on July 24 they were arrested in possession of the car cavorted from Greytown, and the prppcryt stolen from the Self-Help store was found in it.

On a charge of the conversion of a motor-car, valued at £250, the property of Lois Dally, at Auckland, on July 17, accused were remanied until next Thursday. Detective-Sergeant Doyle said there were two smaller charges of theft and one of mischief pending.