MIDNIGHT CHASE.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 17 November 1925, Page 5

MIDNIGHT CHASE.

POLICEMAN AND CHARWOMAN. SEJ.UES OF THEFT CHARGES FOLLOW. (BY TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION.) INVERCARGILL, Nov. 16. Following surprising discoveries in a house in Esk Street, Invercargill, recently. a woman named Annie Elizabeth "Scott, alias Ethel Allen, to-day appeared in the Magistrate’s Court to answer 20 charges of a serious nature. She was accused of the theft of hundreds of articles, some of them rare and valuable, including 428 handkerchiefs.' 78 pairs of gloves, jewellery, scores of tulip bulbs,' mens’ overcoats, shoes: blouses, women’s underclothing, and clog collars. She was also charged with being a rogue and a vagabond. Sepior-Sergeant Scandrett. in prosecuting, said a constable had observed the woman at 12.30 one morning in a flower garden. shadowed her, and when he was questioning her she suddeidy took off her boots and set off V dovn the street. The policeman captured her after a chase,.land conducted her to the police station. Here she could not give a satisfactory account of herself and furtier inquiries were made, which resulted in a constable searching her house. Evidence of identification of many of tie artic e<? was given by a. number of persons'. Most of the articles, it was stated, had been left in the Town Hall ind a theatre, where the accused woman was employed as a. chy woman. In evidence, the woman said she had been working as a charwoman at the Town Hall for -13 years, and had found many cf. the articles after dances and similar functions. She thought most of tlio articles had been abandoned. She also stated that she had .£460 'in the hank, and was saving up in order to get home to Australia. “Really.’’ remarked the magistrate, Mr G. Oitickshnnk, “she ought id get seven years’ imprisonment, but there is no reason why she should not Ire heavily lined.” She was fined a total of CSO. with £26 IDs in eost s and witnesses’ expenses. On a charge of being deemed a rogue and a vagabond she was convicted and ordered lo come up for sentence, not to he called upon if she left New Zealand hv January 21.