SERIES OF THEFTS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXI, 7 June 1938, Page 6

SERIES OF THEFTS

! MAN PLEADS GUILTY COMMITTED FOR SENTENCE t * A man who was seen to enter and j leave the Metropolitan Private Hotel . |by a Window and when accosted by a j young man struggled, and violently rejsisted arrest by a constable who arrivf ed on the scene, appeared in the Magis- , trate’s Court this morning before Mr v T. E. Maunsell. S.M. It was the sequel (to several thefts from houses on the Icvening of 30th May. I The man was Leonard Cyril For- : guson alis Thomas Hunter alias Edward _ I Hill, ship’s fireman, who was charged that on 30th May he did steal from _ ! the dwellinghouse of Mary Jane Walsjter a purse containing £1 14s Gd in _ | money and on eversharp pencil, the . ( property of Mary J. Walter; that he s ; did steal from the dwellinghouse of r. ! George Blair, Tasman street, two I handbags, one purse and one mouth- , organ, the property of Heather M. F. i Blair and others, that he did steal from “(the dwelling house of Mary J. Walter ' i about £1 15s in money and a felt hat, I the property of Archibald M. Bolton i and another; and that he did steal a n I handbag containing Is 9d in money, a purse and a bank book, the property of t Elsie J. V. Woodward. c Accused pleaded guilty and was committed to the Supreme Court in Wellington for sentence. a Evidence was given by Heather M. F. ■_ Blair, student, of Tasman street, who said she returned home at 5.10 o’clock r t on the evening of 30th May, put her o purse and hat on her bed and went t into the kitchen. Hearing knocks in . the front of the house which sounded a as though someone was in the front s of the houes witness went to her bedi- room but being frightened hurried back n to the kitchen. Later she returned tc il the bedroom but the purse was missing.

A search wes made next morning and her mother’s and sister’s handbag.*were discovered, one on the hedge and one in the garden. The contents ol the bags were thrown outside the house. A mouthorgan was stolen from her brother’s tent alongside the house Witness’s own purse was not recovered Withness identified a mouthorgan produced as her brother's. The fronl door of their house was usually lefl partly open. Mary J. Walter, married woman residing at the Metropolitan Hotel, saic she assisted her husband in the management of the hotel. On the 30th May she had placed her purse in s drawer of the duchess in her room ir the evening. The room was on the ground floor. She left the room shortly afterwards. As a result ol something she had heard she made s search of her room at about 6.30 anc discovered that her handbag was missing. The window blind was pushed tc one side. The missing purse containec about £ 1 14s 6d in money, and ar eversharp pencil and papers. The purse and contents with the exceptior of the money were found in the upstairs portion of the hotel next morni ing. | Elsie J. V. Woodward, domestic, residing at the Metropolitan Hotel, said the door of her room opened on to the hotel yard. On the evening of 30tl May witness went to her room, placec her handbag and contents underneath the eiderdown on the bed, and lefi the room, closing the door. Witness later made a search of her room, anc found the door wide open and the handbag and contents missing. The handbag without the money was founc later at the side of the hotel. Archibald M. Bolton, gardener, whe occupied a room at the Metropolitar Hotel, said he left a sum of money about 355, in his room before breakfast on 30th May. He searched his room in the evening and could not fine the money. Among the money was s bent shilling. That evening he was called to the detective office, Nelson and out of a sum of money in silver he picked out the shilling straightaway He recognised the coin because he hac handled it a good deal. Gordon Snoad, salesman, also residing at the Metropolitan Hotel, saic that on the evening of 29th May he noticed that everything was in ordex and nothing missing from his room On the evening of 31st May he missed his hat, and on 2nd June he identified the hat at the Nelson detective office. Atholl A. F. Cotton, residing in Halifax street, said he assisted his fathei at his shop down the alleyway running alongside the Metropolitan Hotel. On 30th May at about 6 o'clock in the evening he was standing at the rear ol his father’s shop and saw the accused come into the alleyway towards the rear of the hotet. walking partly on the flowerbed, and peering through the lower windows of the hotel. The lights were then on in the lower rooms. The accused, who was then a stranger to the witness, continued round towards the quarters occupied by the stair, and witness lost sight of him. Witness heard a door shut and a few minutes later, after the dinner gong had sounded and the lights started to go out in the lower rooms, he saw the accused come from the back of the hotel into the alleyway and look into the windows of the hotel, and then climb into one of the windows which witness now knew belonged to Mrs Walter’s room. A few minutes afterwards accused came out of the window and went into the front of the hotel, through the front door. Witness went | into his father’s shop and rang up j the hotel. It took a few minutes to i get the connection through, and wit- | ness then went to the front of the hotel (and noticed the accused on the other side of the road, now wearing a felt hat. Witness pointed accused out to iMr Waller and saw Mr Walter and accused walk back to the hotel. Mr Walter left accused and the latter started to walk down the road. Witness ran after him and caught him by the shoulder. Accused turned on him and told him to get out of it. Accused tried to get away and a scuffle ensued. Constable Hogg arrived and arrested the acused who resisted violent - I Iv and had to be handcuffed. Constable A. G. Hogg said that at 6.35 o’clock on the evening of 30th May in response to information receded he went to the Metropolitan Hotel. On arrival there he noticed Cotton struggling with the accused. Cotton said, "This is the rrtan 1 saw getting through the window of the hotel.” He arrested accused who Lad to be handcuffed. At the station he searched the j accused and found in his possession J£3 17s 5Jd. He also took from the

- accused a mouth-organ and a felt hit. - i Accused asked the constable what - was his (accused’s) condition when ar- ! rested. t | Witness said accused was slightly I) I under the influence of liquor. - J Detective F. Hayhurst said that on I. 4th June accused told him that drink ii had been the cause of all his trouble i ! and he wished to make a statement and >2 ! plead guilty In the statement, which e j was produced accused said that he had - I had a number of drinks am. did not ■ know what had happened. He wished x. to plead guilty. All the trouble had ; I resulted from taking drink.