POLICE COURT

Evening Star, Issue 23512, 28 February 1940, Page 11

POLICE COURT

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 28. (Before Mr J. R. Bartholomew, S.M.) CHARGE DISMISSED. Charles Driver, a conductor in the employ of the city transport department, was charged with the theft of four gallons of petrol and one of oil. Detective-sergeant Hall represented the police, and Mr E. J. Anderson appeared for the accused. Evidence was given by a youth, aged 16, described as a factory hand, who said that prior to October last he was employed as an apprentice mechanic by the city transport department. The accused was a'conductor for the department. Witness was asked to obtain an empty four-gallon tin for the accused. and did so. The accused said that it was a pity the tin was not full, and witness offered to fill it for him some Saturday. On October 7 accused brought his car with an empty tin in the back seat, and asked witness to fill the tin for him. He did so, siphoning the petrol from the tank of a bus, and also put a gallon of oil in the car, acceding to a previous request of the accused. Ho greased the steering of the car also, and while doing this he was told by an employee to get on with his own work; Ho then drove the car to Fernhill street, where he left it for the accused. Under crossexamination witness said that he was dismissed from his employment on the following Monday. Others had had petrol from him, but the accused had not. To Detective-sergeant Hall: I mean by that that it was found out before it was delivered. Evalyn Parnell gave evidence that a petrol tin had been left by the previous witness at her shop, and that the accused called for it. George Edmond. Pearce, a mechanic, employed in the city transport garage, said that on October 7 ho saw the apprentice greasing a foreign car in the garage. He told the lad to get about his work and take the car out of the garage. The car was then parked in Fernhill street. He had seen a fourgallon tin of oil. and a one-gallon tin of oil, in the back, covered with a sack, and when Mr Eaton arrived, he asked him to look in the hack of the car whore it was parked in the street. ' Corroborative evidence was given by Robert Eaton, who worked in the city transport garage. William Handel MacKenzie, manager of the transport department, said that a few days after the occurrence he taxed the accused, who denied all knowledge of the affair, and maintained that he had given authority to no one to put petrol or oil in.his car. The case against Driver was dropped after the Transport Committee had considered it. The police investigation was not started .by his department. Constable Berrv produced a statement made by the accused in which li« denied that he had had any dealings whatsoever with the apprentice. The tin which he had obtained had a small hole in the top. and he had later cut it so that he might use it for carrying cement. Mr Anderson said that the case for the prosecution rested very largely on the evidence of the apprentice. The accused, in evidence, said that he had had only 98 minutes for lunch on the morning of October 7. Ho had not talked to anvone. nor bad be authorised anvone to put anything in his car. That afteroon he noticed that his car had been shifted, also that there was a sack in the back. Harry Wilson gave evidence that im was motorman on the tram of which the accused was conductor. Re corroborated the evidence of tlm accused as to his movements on the day in question, ( The Magistrate said that on the boy’s ow'n showing of his character, it was quite feasib'e that he bad placed petrol and oil hi the car as a speculation. The case had not been proved to the satisfaction of the court, and the information would he dismissed