AUDACIOUS THIEF

Evening Star, Issue 22892, 25 February 1938, Page 12

AUDACIOUS THIEF

MATERIAL FOR BUILDING CRIB YOUNG MAN SENT TO GAOL " This young man is a most audacious thief,” declared Chief-detective Young, when Francis Charles de Bazin, pleaded guilty in the Police Court to-day to 17 charges of theft ,the offences covering a period ranging from October-, 1936, to September, 1937. The facts detailed by Mr Young disclosed that the accused had stolen more than £2OO worth of timber and building material, which he had used in the construction of a crib at Purakanui. The .charges against de Bazin were as follow: —February 1, 1937, theft of 40 sheets of raalthoid roofing iron and four window frames, valued at £42, the property of William M’Lellan; on or about January 1, 1937, plasterer’s tools of a total value of £2 10s, property of persons unknown ; on or about October 19, 1936, carpenters’ tools, valued at £6 15s, the property of Ivan Hughes and others; on or about June 18, 1937, carpenters’ tools of total value of £6 12s, the.property of David Earl Smith and another; on or about April 13, 1937, painters’ requisites, valued at £7 3s 6d, the property of Charles Slater Brown;, on or about April 23, 1937, at Sawyers Bay, quantity of tools and a set of overalls, of a value of £9 12s lid, the property of Alan Stuart Porteous and others; on or about November 12, 1936, carpenters’ tools, valued at, £1 14s 3d, the property of Stronach Souness and others; on or about February 1, 1937, carpenters’ tools, valued at £8 10s, the property of William M’Lellan; on or about March 3, 1937, roofing iron, valued at £2 3s 6d, the property of the Ocean Beach Domain Board; on or about March 5. timber, valued at £7, the property of the Ocean Beach Domain Board; on or about May 13, timber, valued at £l6 16s 6d, the property of the Southland Sawmilling Company; on or about March 11, timber, valued at £23 4s, the property of Wood, M’Cormactk, and another ; on or about June 6, two sinks and fittings and a quantity of locks, of a total value of £3 17s, the property of Ashley Coopery on or about June 12, 1937, a bottle jack, valued at £3, the property of some person unknown; on or about May 29, 1937, 60 sheets of three-ply wood and two bundles of shingles valued at £23 Os 6d, the property of the Southland and Otago Cooperative Timber Company; on or about January 20, 1937, 9 canvas cover, valued at £3, the property of David Alexander Marr; on or about September 10, 1937, at Ross Point, goods, of a total value of £45, the property of Leon Cohen. The accused, who also pleaded guilty to a charge that, on February 11, he procured two rifles without a permit, was represented by Mr 0. G. Stevens. Outlining the offences committed by the accused, the Chief Detective said that there were 17 informations against him for the theft of tools, timber, roofing iron, brushes, paint, etc., these covering a period from October, 1936, to September, 1937. The total value of the property stolen was £212 18s 2d, and the value of that recovered was £49 10s lid, making a deficiency of £163 7s 3d. Mr Young said that during the period covered by the thefts the accused was the owner of a 30cwt truck, and ho obtained a section at Purakanui. He then apparently set out with the use of the truck to steal the timber and other material for the building of a crib. He successfully completed the job before Detective Russell got on his track, and the crib was built almost entirely of stolen material and furnished. The value was approximately _ £3OO The Chief Detective detailed the offences committed by the accused, and said that the theft from M'Lennan of roofing iron - in February, 1937, had taken place in the evening, the value of the goods recovered being £9 out of a total value of £SO stolen. The first offence was the theft of tools from workmen employed on alterations to Otago Motors in Princes street in October, 1936, and none of the tools had been recovered In another case, tools were stolen from public workmen’s huts. ■ When he removed timber from Wood and M’Cormack’s yard he backed his lorry in there on a Saturday morning. He had stolen varnish, paint, and brushes from a man employed painting the King’s High School, and also stole tools from workmen employed building a house at Sawyer’s Bay. The accused stole 500 ft of flooring timber and a quantity of skirting, all of it being put into the house. When he had the crib nearly under way, he went to a crib at Ross Point and almost stripped it of its contents, valued a £45, of which £25 had been recovered. The last information arose out of the, accused’s arrest, two rifles being found in his possession, these being obtained without a permit. In view of the fact that the accused was refused a permit to have the rifles on account of his list, the Chief Detective suggested that the rifles should be confiscated.

“ The accused has quite a bad list,” the Chief Detective added. His first appearance was before the Children’s Welfare Court in 1932 on 10 charges of breaking and entering, being sentenced to two years in the Borstal. Rubseouently, he came before the Police Court for theft, and was admitted to probation for two years. “A BIT HOT.” Mr Stevens said that the accused was a young man who, since early life, had no advantages so far as the parental control of a father was concerned. Unfortunately, he came under the Child Welfare Department, “bub,” said Mr Stevens, “ I submit it is mating things a hit ‘ hot ’ when offences committed under that Act are put on to this man’s list and handed in to the court as one of the crimes he committed.” The magistrate (Mr H. W. Bundle); Well, Mr Stevens, what do oyu mean? Mr Stevens: 1 will not say “hot,” your Worship, but rather very harsh and oppressive. Well, Mr Stevens, what do you mean? had had a bout of pneumonia and was unable to obtain work outside. He was refused a license to drive a taxi which soured him and made him bitter. The accused purchased a section at Purakanui, taking two years to pay it off. He seemed to have developed a kink for the work of building this crib, and when he was short of funds the temptation was too much for him, and he gave way to it, this beginning the series of thefts. That he was penitent was shown by his frankness to the police. By selling the house at Purakanui, he was endeavouring to make good the loss suffered by various persons through his offences. On the charge of procuring rifles without a permit the accused was convicted without penalty, and the magistrate ordered that the rifles should°be forfeited. Mr Stevens said that the actual amount owing on the accused’s crib was £9B 12s 6d.

ACCUSED’S INGENUITY. The Magistrate said that the accused had shown considerable ingenuity in his thieving. He had not hesitated to drive into timber yards and take timber most openly, and he had stolen tools belonging to workmen employed on different contracts about the city. The magistrate convicted the accused on the charge of the theft of 40 sheets of roofing iron and sentenced him to four months’ imprisonment. On each of the other charges he was convicted, and the question of penalty was adjourned for three months. If the property at Purakanui were sold and the amount applied to restitution, the question of penalty would be considered.