MISSING RABBITSKINS

Evening Star, Issue 22379, 1 July 1936, Page 10

MISSING RABBITSKINS

IMPRISONMENT FOR THIEF “ CALCULATED AHO DELIBERATE OFFENCE " ' “The offence was a calculated and deliberate one,” said the magistrate (Mr J. K. Bartholomew) in the Bonce Court this morning in sentencing James Nicholas Gordon Hoskm to three months’ imprisonment with hard labour for the theft of rabbitskins. His worship added that the offence was a difficult one to detect. ' Hoskin was charged with the theft at Dunedin on or about May 22 of a quantity of rabbitskins, valued at ilt, toe property of Dalgety and Co. Ltd., or alternatively of some persons unknown. Mr R. Frapwell appeared for the accused, who pleaded not guilty. Chief-detective Young outlined the facts of the case, and said that between 5 p.m. on May 22 and 7 a.m. on May 23 approximately 401 bof rabbitskins . were stolen from Dalgety’s store in i Jetty street, Dunedin. It was thought the thief might have allowed himselt to be locked in the premises. There was no evidence of forcible entry. The skins were taken from the different bins in the .store, and were skins which had been sorted. These skins were ’ from various clients, and were of mixed grade. The matter was reported to the police, and investigations were made by Detective Marsh, and all skin dealers were notified. On May 26 Messrs R. S. Black and Son Ltd, received a sack containing 211 b of skins from Oamaru, purporting to come from.G. Hoskin, Geramqll’s Crossing. The consignment was immediately classified as being composed of store skins. They were of various grades, and some weres factory skinned. They were similar in all respects to the skins stolen from Dalgety’s. The following day the same .firm received a further sack containing 471 b of skins, purport- '■ irig to come from G. Hedley, who gave the address of the Queen’s Hotel, Oamaru. These were identical with those stolen from Dalgety’s. Inquiries were made by the police, and suspicion turned on the accused. He was seen by Sergeant M‘Gregor and_ Constable Patterson. He at first denied that he was the person giving the name of G. Hedley, but admitted he was the person giving the name of G. Hoskin. He later admitted also that he was George Hedlev. and made some explanation as to why he had given the false name. In a written statement he said that he had been trapping, shooting, and digging out rabbits at his father’s farm at Totara since the beginning of the year. Further evidence would be given that he had sent 401 b of skins to Messrs R. S. Black and Son Ltd. on April 18. and it was submitted that these were all summer skins. .. Lilian Emily Clark, assistant man- ’ ageresa at the Leviathan Hotel, said that on May 19 last she booked in a man named G. Hoskin, who stayed the following day, To Mr Frapwell witness said she could not say definitely that the ac- ' cased was the man, but his luce seemed familiar. _ Frederick Stanley Arthur, manager of the wool and skin department of Dalgety and Co. Ltd., gave evidence of the discovery of the theft in his firm’s rabbitskin store. .Thera were various kinds of skins stolen, including some from Messrs Thomas Bofthwick and Sons, which were entirely different from ; trappers’ skins; Soon afterwards witness went to Messrs R. S. Blhck and Sons to inspect some skins sent from Oamaru by one G. Hoskin, and he had, immediately formed the opinion that they were not trappers’ skins. . They w,ere similar to come or those which had been stolen '■ On May 28 witness was asked to inspect another consignment of skins . at Black’s, these haying been sent by one G. Hedley, of Oamaru.' They did not appear to be .trappers’ skins, and bore a similarity to those stolen. Evidence vtas also given by John : Mitchell Davis, classer for Messrs R. S. Black and Son, and Joseph Robson, classer for Dalgety’s. , Joseph William Turner, a wool and skin exporter, said l he had .examined the skins sent to Messrs R. S. Black and Son. A good many of them were obviously factory skins, and the bulk of the remainder appeared to have come from Central Otago. He could say de-finitely-that they , were'not skins from the, Oamaru district, which wore quite distinctive. - . To Mr Frapwell: Witness said he had never seen skins of that kind from Oamaru. The factory skins appeared to have come from Southland. .. Constable Patterson gave evidence that the accused, in a statement, said that the reason he had sent the skins in the name of George Hedley was,that ! r he had been in trouble' before for stealing skins at Invercargill, and if he sent them in his own name the firm might have thought that they were stolen. , Detective Marsh also gave evidence. Mr Frapwell did not call evidence lor the defence, but submitted that the evidence was not sufficient as to the identity of the skins and as to the theft. The Magistrate reviewed the evidence, and said that expert evidence showed that the skins could not have been obtained, as the accused stated, j His .explanation for giving a. false mure | ! when sending skins was such that Hi:- I Worship thought it might be a learon why everything should have been open and above-board, and why the accused should have used his own name. It had been clearly established that these were stolen skins, and the evidence was that Dalgety’s missed skins before these skins were recovered from Black’s, and those recovered were identical with ths skins missed by Dalgety’s. The accused would be' convicted on the first charge: ' Chief-detective Young said that this class of offence was one causing concern, and it was fairly easy to commit. ■' The accused was before the court 13 years ago bn 18 charges of. breaking and entering and theft. _ His Worship asked the chief detec- • tive if the skins could have been ransacked • during working hours, Mr Young replying that the only conclusion they 'could come to was that the person taking them was shut in the premises. The Magistrate said that the accused’s record was not good, and he would be sentenced to three months’ imprisonment with hard labour. The second charge was struck out.