POLICE COURT

Evening Star, Issue 21723, 18 May 1934, Page 10

POLICE COURT

FRIDAY. MAY 18. (Before Mr H. W. Bundle, S.M.) FINED FOR THEFT, After pleading guilty' to the theft of nine dozen, empty beer bottles from the Henley Hotel, Arthur -Ehvin Nicholson (Mr C. J. L. White), on his_ first appearance, questioned the police statement of his arrest, and the case was adjourned to allow the constable to be called. ’ Constable W. Southgate said he - ar-. rested the accused at Henley. ; He first saw him half a mile beyond Titri, when the bottles were on the truck. He said he was returning the bottles. He did not tell Nicholson that he was a constable until he arrested him. The truck was facing the south. After the blownout tyres had - been repaired, the accused returned to the Henley Hotel with the bottles. The accused' was sober. 5 - To Mr White: The accused admitted having had one drink. He had driven the truck back to Henley, witness following. Mr White said there were some unusual circumstances. Obviously, accused' bad been drinking during the day. He made no attempt to cover up the bottles. _ The Magistrate: Why should he? He was a bottle gatherer. Mr White said there was a drunken element about the case. ' Senior-sergeant Mac Lean said the accused was a convicted thief. A fine of £5 was imposed, in default fourteen days’ imprisonment, twentyfour hours being allowed in which to pay the fine. , DISORDERLY BEHAVIOUR. “ You have had an experience of prison, and you must understand definitely that if you come before the court again, for an offence of this nature you will be sentenced to a term of imprisonment,” said the Magistrate to Alexander 'Gibb Davidson, who appeared for sentence on a charge of disorderly behaviour. ■ Senior-sergeant Mac Lean said the accused’s mother had told him that her son was a decent lad except.for a propensity for drinking with other young men. The mother was of strong character, and she was prepared to guide him. Davidson was looked upon by the South Dunedin police as a notorious hoodlum, and he now appreciated that he' had belittled the kindness of the constable in giving him three opportunities of going home on the night of the disturbance. The accused took out a prohibition order, and' the charge was then adjourned for twelve months.

FURTHER INQUIRIES PENDING. Sarah Smith pleaded guilty to a charge of drunkenness and not guilty to a charge of the theft of a bedcase, a box of nails, and screws, of a total value of £lO, the property of Frank Gordon Hogg. ’. ' . Chief-detective Young, in asking for a remand for a week, said that the accused was arrested yesterday afternoon for drunkenness. She was suspected of the theft of other articles. The ones mentioned in the charge were in her possession. She was in possession of other, articles, which had evidently been stolen from a shop. She had been before the court for drunkenness last month. . “ I didn’t steal the things, ’ declared the accused. . .

The remand was granted, bail being allowed in the accused’s own recognisance of £lO, the charge of drunkenness being adjourned till the other matter had been disposed of. THEFT CHARGE ADJOURNED, Stanley Alfred Brooks was charged with the,theft .of .an overcoat, valued at £4 Bs, the property of Butterfield’s Ltd. Mr C. J. L. White, instructed by Messrs Duncan and MacGregor, appeared for the accused, and stated that the facts would be admitted but that a request would ■ be made that a conviction should not be entered. Chief-detective Young said that_ on December 21 last the accused visited the complainant and made arrangements to obtain an overcoat under hirepurchase agreement. He paid 17s down, and agreed to pay the. remainder by monthly instalments of £l. No further payments were made, and nothing was heard of the accused until the complainant received information and found that the coat had been sold by the accused to a second-hand dealer for 15s on March 20. The matter was reported to the police, and Constable M. Brown located Brooks, who admitted the offence. The accused was a' married man with two children, and was living apart from his wife. Restitution had been made. Mr White said the accused was m employment when he bought the coat, and thought he could meet his . obligations. Shortly afterwards he lost his employment, and had been out of work some time. In March his wife threatened separation proceedings. The matter was adjusted by private agreement for separation, and defendant had to return to his work. He found he had no money, and instead of going to his father took the coat to a second-hand shop in Frederick street. Counsel said he thought it was obvious that , the accused’s intention was to pawn .the coat, but as the second-hand dealer did not have a pawnbroker’s license it was put through as a sale with a secret agreement that he could redeem it it he wanted to. He then went back to his work at Kelso, and at Easter time wanted the coat arranging to uplift it. This man rani short ot money and communicated with the accused’s father, who rather foQiishly sent the accused’s wife to look for the coat. She could not locate the shop, but apparently information was then given to Butterfields, and ft P r °“ cu A i °" lowed Mr White said that the accused, like most others, would iiot think he was committing an ottence, and obviously he did not want 1» lose bis coat. Mr White suggested that the case might be adjourned for we v 111 said it was quite possible the accused ' might commit the offence of theft without '“Ending f l ns he had paid only 17s or £1 iot the coat he should have known he was Sing wrong. His Worship said he was very loth to enter a conviction for theft. Restitution had been made, and be would adjourn the case for twelve months. If » satisfactory report concerning the accused was then made he W An appfealiot by for suppression of the name was refused. MOTORISTS CHARGED. Sidney Alexander Ross was fined 40s and costs for using a motor car before receiving an endorsed certificate, and on a charge of . failing to notify change of ownership of a motor .car he was convicted. . John Kyle, who was represented by Mr J. S. Sinclair, pleaded not guilty to a charge of failing to give way to traffic on the right, and after hearing .evidence the magistrate dismissed the charge.