OLD CHARGE

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 259, 29 July 1941, Page 2

OLD CHARGE

Alleged Revolver Theft 19 Years Ago

MAN’S BOYHOOD RECALLED Charged with an offence that he is alleged to have committed 19 years ago, a man aged 37, the publication of whose name was prohibited, appeared before Mr. Stout, S.M., in the Magistrates’ Court, Wellington, yesterday and was remanded. The charge was that in April, 1922, be broke into the shop of W. H. Tisdall, Lambton Quay, and stole 11 revolvers and 700 rounds of ammunition, of a total value of £l7/16/-.

Responding to an application by Detective-Sergeant W. McLennan for a remand till August 6, Mr. W. P. Rollings, who appeared for accused, said he had no objection to a remand but desired to apply for bail and for tlie suppression of accused’s name. At the time when the offence was alleged to have been committed accused -was aged 17 and was associating with certain other youths, though he was not associated with them in respect of this offence. One of them was convicted Of it and served a term in prison. To break the association, said Mr. Rollings, his client left Wellington for two years. Since then he had lived the life of a respectable citizen. He had held a second-hand dealer’s licence, which had required a police investigation into his character, and a carrier’s licence, and recently he had made application for a taxi driver’s licence. He was married with, three children. Counsel said that if the police proceeded with the charge it would be defended. If it were not *

proceeded with it would be tragic for accused’s name to be published. He had never been convicted. The detective-sergeant said it was possible that the police would not proceed further with the charge.

The remand was granted, bait allowed and accused’s name suppressed. •