A SMART BOY
CAPTURES AN ALLEGED THIEF. “A very useful young man to have about the place and quite a good amateur sleuth,’ ’a member of the Police Force remarked to a Post reporter, when a lad named Emil Brandlis stepp= ed down from the witness-box at the Wellington Magistrate’s Court. Alfred William Donaldson stood on the opposite side of the Court to answer a charge of having stolen a bike valued ot £ls, the property of Inglis Bros, and Company, Ltd. One of the clerks employed by the company on Thursday morning left the machine outside the Union Steam Ship Company’s offices, a few minutes found it had disappeared. Later in the day the boy Brandi is noticed Donaldson with the machine in Taranaki street. He went across and told him that his firm owned the machine and that he intended to take it back. Donaldson replied that ho had been given th© machine and attempted to move off. The lad did a little quick head work and told him a constable was approaching—actually there was none in sight—and at the same time placed his own bicycle in th© path of the other. Donaldson became generous at once, and giving up the machine stalked off,' However, now that the lad had got the machine he set out to get the man, obviously an impossible task without help. He followed him for some time till a constable came within hailing distance, when he was called over and the man given in charge.
Donalds on repeated his story this morning that a “man whom he would not know again” had offered l to sell him th© machine, and when told that he had no money kindly said, “You have it for nothing,” and was as good as his word.
The Post adds; To the surprise of everyone and the considerable discom* forture of the Court, for the “list” today is a heavy one, Donaldson, who pleaded not guilty, elected to be tried *>y jury. Consequently the whole of ■e evidence for th© prosecution will have to be taken over again and officially taken down by th© Court typist when, th© ease can be again called later this afternoon.
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NEM19190205.2.10
Bibliographic details
Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LIII, Issue 30, 5 February 1919, Page 2
Word Count
367A SMART BOY Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LIII, Issue 30, 5 February 1919, Page 2
Using This Item
Stuff Ltd is the copyright owner for the Nelson Evening Mail. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 New Zealand licence. This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Stuff Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.
Log in