POLICE AND BURGLAR

Evening Star, Issue 19005, 29 July 1925, Page 9

POLICE AND BURGLAR

INTRUDER SHOT There whs a desperate struggle between detectives and a man v no hid broken into a boot store in Sydney on Friday evening (writes the Sydney correspondent of the Auckland ‘ fctar ' under date July 17). , The man was arrested following a carefully laid police trap, which had been set in an effort to apprehend the person or persons responsible lor recent shop-breaking crimes in the city. The detectives waited in the complete darkness of the interior, and at about 11 o’clock a scraping sound was heard at a side window. They remained still, and then they heard the bars of the window being forced as if with some powerful tool. They then crept noiselessly to either side of the aperture, and remained waiting for the man to gain admittance. He climbed on to a ledge and pushed aside the stacked boot boxes and scrambled into the shop.

As he landed on his feet a nojicoman flashed a blinding circle of light from a powerful torch full in his face. “ Hands up!” he commanded, levelling a revolver at the man, who had thrown his hand up to Ids face to shield himself from the sudden flash of light. With a lightning movement the intruder placed his right hand into his coat pocket, and was actually drawing a revolver when the policeman again uttered Ids command “Mauds up!” Ho then fired, and the man fell back apace, his arm hanging at his side. Almost simultaneously with the shot one of the detectives threw himself upon the shopbreaker, pinning his arms to his side. There was a fierce struggle, in which the man made a desperate attempt to wrench himself free. Ho made another effort to draw Ids revolver before a handcuff was slipped around bis uninjured wrist.

The intruder was then convoyed to hospital, where the wound was treated, and ho was then charged with breaking and entering.