PRISONERS SENTENCED.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 17755, 14 April 1921, Page 6

PRISONERS SENTENCED.

VARIOUS CRIMES ADMITTED.

SEVERAL ON PROBATION.

Eighteen prisoners, of whom several .were youths, appeared before Mr. Justice J Adams in the Supreme Court yesterday for sentence. In six cases remands were granted until this morning. The Crown Prosecutor, Mr. V. R. Meredith, appeared for the Crown.

i iiL".i with burglary at Uavonport, i Leslie George Sisson (Mr. Hogben), was admitted to probation for three years. : Counsel said prisoner was proceeding home under the influence of liquor when 1 he walked through a broken-down fence and into premises from which ho stole | ; quantity of goods, such a& a tin of oocoa and a tin of condensed milk. The Judge said the act seemed more like the indiscriminate action of a drunken man than a criminal act, and admitted prisoner to probation provided he returned the goods and paid the costs of the prosecution. Prisoner wa 3 also or- • dered to take out a prohibition order. I -. lualij i-reuertcK John Taylor, who had pleaded guilty to charges of having forged three cheques ana naving wilfully sent a telegram signed witn another person's name without authority, was sentenced to detention for reformative treatment for a period not exceeding I four viars r l't,_ ,- .n__ .. , °

lour years. The forgery offences tooK place at Wairanga, and involved the sum of £29 10s. He had obtained a bicycle for one of the cheques, and was required by the Court to make restitution. Forgery and Valueless Cheques. In reference to two charges of forging* and two of uttering valueless cheques against Maxwell Steel Ramsay, the probation officer 'said prisoner was inclined to drink. The Judge tidd he was glad the prisoner had expressed contrition. Prisoner was admitted to probation for three years on condition that his pro hibition order be renewed annually and he pay costs, £3 12s. Cumges of forgery and false presences were admitted by an elderly man, George Carroll. The probation officer jsaid that prisoner had several convictions | against him for drunkenness and offences arigingjout of drink. In view of .his ad-" jvanced age it would probably be useless to—admit him to probation. His Honor said he would take into account the prisoner's otherwise previous good moral i character, and imposed a sentence of one iyear's reformative detention. J John Ranski, an elderly man, who had i pleaded guilty to four charges of obtaining goods by means of valueless cheques, is at present serving a sentence of three years' hard labour for false pretences j which formed part of-the same series of | offences. He has also been declared an : habitual criminal. The Judge said that prisoner had a long and bad record, including charges of drunkenness, sly grogselling, thefts, indecent assault and idle and disorderly conduct. Prisoner was sentenced to 12 months' hard labour, concurrent with his present sentence. Postal Packet Wrongfully Opened. A 17-year-old youth, Frank Reginald Cyril Turner, was admitted to probation for two years for having opened a postal packet contrary to his duty. He had picked the packet up on the steps of an office in Queen Street and had cashed a cheque for £5 3s which he found inside. He was ordered to make restitution. I For breaking and entering at Hamilton and stealing a sum of money, Edward Victor Elscome was sentenced to reformative detention for a period not exceeding two years. The probation officer at Hamilton reported that the prisoner arrived in New Zealand from England by deserting from his ship. | A 'frH Ni<-'ho]->s Thomns was charged with a breach of a probation order. The probation officer recommended that a lenient view be taken of the case. Prisoner was sentenced last~year to two years' probation for the theft <5t a motorcycle. He was hoping to marry, shortly, land " if she is a sensible girl I hope she will be the princinal probation officer in the case." added Mr. Jeffreys. An additional term of 12 months' probation I was added to prisoner's present sentence.