CHARGES OF THEFT.

Greymouth Evening Star, 26 September 1917, Page 2

CHARGES OF THEFT.

YOUNG MAN PLEADS GUILTY

SENTENCE AND COMMITTAL

At the Magistrate's! Court, CTey-jnout-U this inoming, before Messrs tV. K.' Ketife and J. Steer, J.P.’s l , a,

voting' matt namecl Edward isetl uluHeti was charged (1) that, at Auckland on March 29th tast_ ho did steal one watch and chain and one ii.it, valued at £2, the property of

William Alexander Wrack; • (2) that on September IGtli, at Maori Gully, lie did break and enter the dwelling of Daniel O’Brien and steal therefrom

the sum of 12s; at id (-‘I) at Te Kuiti, > on or about May 14th last, he did i'.e.al one pair of trousers valued at ;U)s, the property of the Te Kuiti Municipal Hand.

Sergeant-Detective Ward appeared on behalf of the prosecution and the charge of theft at Maori. Gully was. 1 taken first. Daniel O'Brien, a pensioner at

Maori Gully, said he left Ins hut at about 10.110 on September 10th, and

fastaied the door with a chain and hasp. The hub was a. little distance from tlie, road. At about 11 o’clock lie saw someone, a very small person, going towards bis hut, to which witness returned at 1 p.m. 1 lie hub door was closed and he could tell there had been someone inside in that the

“catch” inside the door was not a s he. had left it. He missed 12s from

„: s , vest pocket, which had been left in ,he but. .Sixpence had been left in the pocket.

lb the Bench ; He was too far away

to swear that it was the accused whom he saw going towards the hut.

Sergeant-Detective Ward arrested the accused at .lack,sons on the Irih vn:d. A;keel if he had committed me otfcnccg accused said no, but, subsequently admitted it, A statement in writiii"' signed by the accused warn o,o*/ I hi. In the statement the accused admitted taking two medals and chain from one hut, which he afterwards threw away, believing them to he no good. Subsequently he took 12s from another hut. The witness explained that the medals and chain referred to another hut and not that of the witness O'Brien.

Asked if he had anything to saxin answer to the usual intimation that

the Court proposed to commit him for trial, accused put in a. written statement, admitting hi.si guilt and

explaining that lie had met with an accident at Auckland and could not

remain there. Accused pleaded guilty and waa committed for sentence at the .Supreme Court, Christchurch, Accused also pleaded guilty to the charges of theft at Auckland and Te K nit i.

Sergeant-Detective Ward said the Bench could deal summarily with the accused on the North Island charges. The accused, who was 24 years of age, had a .bad record and bad been repeatedly convicted of theft, in all, ten charges of theft and breaking and entering. He had been admitted to Burnham Industrial School, but absconded sex-eral times., in each instance committing thefts. On the last occasion he xvas sentenced to two months Hi two charges at IJikurangi. A month after his release he had committed the theft of the xvateh and chain at Auckland. The Bench said the accused appear'd to he a. hopeless case. It was difficult to know what xvas to be done with smell a confirmed thief. On the Y-'-fli Island charges he would be sentenced to three months at LyUelf Gao], the sentences to be cumulative.