DRUNKEN THEFTS

Evening Star, Issue 23175, 26 January 1939, Page 20

DRUNKEN THEFTS

FUR GOAT AND CHOCOLATES FORMER THROWN OVER FENCE While on a drinking bout on January 18. Robert Bruce M'Kinlay (39) stole a musquash Mir coat from a room of an hotel, put it on underneath his overcoat, and then proceeded to visit a bus depot, from where lie took two fllb boxes of chocolates, their sale to a storekeeper netting him 4s Od. The coat lit threw over a fence after not being able to dispose of it. M'Kinlay admitted the thefts in the Police Court yesterday, and was sentenced to a term of imprisonment. Chisf-detective Holmes said that M'Kinlay was addicted to drink. He entered the room of Mrs Mitchell, the wife of the licensee of the Empire Hotel, and stole the coat, which was valued at £4O. After leaving the hotel he went to St. Kilda and tried to dispose of it. Information was received by Detectivesergeant Le Sueur about this attempted transaction, and he located the accused, who said ho had pnt the coat over a fence into the First Church grounds. It was recovered in an undamaged condition. The two 51b boxes of chocolates were valued at 17s 6d, and were the property of the Government Railway Road Service Department. The accused had taken them to an elderly storekeeper, and had received 4s 6d for them after saying that he had no money. Ho had a long list of previous convictions. M'Kinlay said he had a job to go to at Invercargill.' Without comment, Mr J. R. Bartholomew, S.M., sentenced M'Kinlay to three months’ imprisonment with hard labour for the theft of the fur coat, and to seven days’ imprisonment for the theft of the chocolates.