SERIOUS OFFENCES

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 59, 13 March 1929, Page 10

SERIOUS OFFENCES

THREE MEN CHARGED

ALLEGED THEFT AND ARSON

A LOWER HUTT FIRE

Charges of robbery and arson at the shop of Eobert Young Shearer^ Ltd., 29-31, Main road, Lower Hutt, were proceeded with; in the Magistrate* Court to-day against Thomas Gordon, taxi-driver, aged 21; Eiehard Byan, motor mechanic, aged 31, and George "Wilfred Eyan, taxi-driver, aged 24/ who, with Arthur Henry William Bcvan; a plumber,. aged 20, wero arrested. after the mail robbery on the ferry steamer Wahine. The value of the goods involved in the Hutt robbery charge was given at about £90/ ■ ■ . , „;,;.,

Mr. F. K. Hunt, S.M., was on the Bench; Cliief Detective Ward conducted the prosecution, and Mr. W. B. Leicester appeared for the accused.

Bobert Young Shearer, managing^ director of the firm of B. Y. Shearer, Ltd., said that when he left the shop about 5.30 p.m. on 10th January there was no sign of fire, and the doors -were locked. Ho received a telephone: message about 3 a.m. on 11th, and went to his shop, the mercery department';, of which he found had been damaged by fire. ■■ There had been a number of fires in the shop—about ten altogether. <The daniago had been estimated at & 1775.

Evidence regarding the number ;. of fires in the shop was also givenl by Robert Harold Shearer. He said tliat he found a pane of glass had been broken out of the fanlight over the righthand show window. On various goods, etc., ho had also found, burnt-out wax matches. About. £90 worth of stock had been taken from the mercery and drapery departments. :.'..

To Mr. Leicester, witness said., that four of .the articles produced by tho XJolico bore his firm's cost mark, and the other goods were similar, to those he stocked..- , At -the 'Detective Office Gordon had referredj.'tb some of the articles as belonging - : Ho witness. Ho actually' found ' three matches in .the :shop.',i.^-;')'i;'i•*■ ■■' '< .':■-■■'■■. ;,.■■•'■ ;'v

.A'linotype operator, Horatio William Peare'e, said that he left Wellingtoa early on the morning of 11th January by service car. On arrival at the Lower Hutt he saw that Shearer's shop was on fire, and gave the alarm -at the five station. lie saw no one about tho shop.

Arthur Francis "WyetH, motorman and station-keeper in charge of the Lower Hutt Fire Brigade Station, who attended the outbreak, said that he found a number of fires on tho premises, none of which could have commenced from the other.

Detective E.. C. Jarrold said that"ho went to Shearer's shop on 11th January and saw where a number of fires had occurred. He discovered that a. pane of glass in a fanlight at the front of the shop had been broken and also found burnt-out matches on,the premises. He had recovered articles, whicli had been identified by Mr. Shearer, from the three accused. The two Ryans said that Gordon had given them the goods. When witness interviewed Gordon at the Detective Office- he made a statement in which he said that in company with George Ryan ho drove out in' Dick Ryan's car to Taita on the night of- 10th January. After "knocking about" Taita and consuming some liquor, ho drove Ryan, who was too drunk to drive, along the main'road at Lower Hutt. He took tho car into an open yard some- distance from Shearer's shop and then got out, leaving Ryan in the car. Climbing up on to the top of a large show case at Shearer's, he commenced to cut tho putty out of a fanlight. . The glass, However, broke and he climbed into ihe shop and collected some clothing. This ho slacked near the door, and then brought the car back for it. Tho car was then driven to Wellington. When about half way in to town Ryan, woke up and "went crook" about the articles in the back of the cur. . . He gave the two Ryans, and also Bevan, some of the articles which he had taken i'rom Shearer's shop. He had used matches when in the shop, but denied having set fire to it, there being no sign of fire when he left. (Proceeding.)'