YOUTHFUL BURGLAR

Greymouth Evening Star, 26 March 1925, Page 3

YOUTHFUL BURGLAR

CAPTURED WITH LOOT. (Per Press Association.) CHRISTCHURCH, March 25. Masked by a silken scarf, Whitefoord Jukes Curtis, aged 17, was arrested while crouching behind a counter in the premises of the New Zealand Farmers’' Co-operative Association of Canterbury, Ltd., at 3.30 a.m. to-day. Curtis, though handcuffed, made a great bid for liberty,, but he was recaptured, after a splendid break, which traversed several blocks, and ended at the back of the Municipal Chambers. It was eventually found that Curtis was arrested on his third job, as the information given to the police _ led to the recovery of a large quantity of stolen property, associating him with operations at two other business premises. When the night watchman and' a constable entered the Farmers’ Coop. buildings, the lights were switched off. Curtis was not visible, but presently Constables Mclnnes found him behind a counter in the Seeds DepaTtment. Curtis was masked with a scarf, and. without waiting, the constable pounced over the counter and grappled with the intruder. A sharp struggle followed, and the nightwatchman assisted to handcuff Curtis’s hands Vfeliirid his back. He was taken to the middle of the floor, where he told his captors that he was working alone. Beside the Cashel Street door stood two suitcases full of loot, and a rifle lap on the floor. Curtis was just on the point of leaving when he was disturbed: Then Curtis demonstrated his athletic prowess- Constable Mclnnes stood near il/e door with his man, holding him by one arm, while Constable Patterson, who had arrived, was making a search for any accomplice. The

sound of running steps was heard, and when Mclnnes’s attention was detracted for a. second by the thought that he would have to face a second man, Curtis broke free, and bejunded into the air and out of the door with his hands behind him; Constable Mclnnes set off in full, chase, but Curtis had a lead in the darkness. Eventually Curtis was ccwnered after a chase, and even then he unsuccessfully endeavoured to break away again. Curtis appeared at the Court this morning charged with theft, and he was remanded for a week. The police 1 said there were other charges to be preferred. “TREASURES” AT HOME. (Special to “Star.”) CHRISTCHURCH, March 25. After the arrest, the police visited the home of Curtis at 142 Worcester St. to collect material concerned in other charges. Curtis had a pretty taste in the choice /of other people’s property. An inspection of the goods proved that .he had not condescended to filch any rubbish, except, perhaps, a number of the best selling novels by authors whose chief ambition it is to write about the love affairs <|f penniless, though thoroughly well-bred, ladies. There was a beautiful new Kaiapoi rug nicely strapped in with a sporting gun. 'Two brand new suit cases (all leather’) were filled with goods from which the price tickets dangled. One contained silk scarves, silk pyjamas, (silk and woollen), shaving britches and electric torches. In the other, a large one, were more wearing apparel, pairs of shoes, tennis balls, boxes of cartridges, several novels, alarm clocks, silver pencils and a hundred and one small articles. Both bags were packed to capacity. No enthusiastic holiday-maker would have attempted to get so much in- There were also several sporting guns in the collection. From the place where the lad lived, about eight more suitcases and gladstone bags were taken, and those too contained goods of all descriptions. Included in the-list is a straw hat, which is decorated with the colours of the Waitaki Boys’ High School. Many of the articles have been identified as the.property of Briscoe and Cci., Ltd., and others as the property of Skelton, Frostick and Co., Ltd. The business preihises of both these firms were broken into on the nights of Wednesday and Thursday of last week. The whole of the property is a miscel-

laneous Jot, principally articles oi clothing and small things, which can be used every day. It is estimated that the value was about £lOO.