STOLEN MOTOR-CYCLES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19495, 26 November 1926, Page 15

STOLEN MOTOR-CYCLES.

FRAMES FOUND IN RIVER. INTERCHANGE OF PARTS MADE. " SKILL AND INGENUITY SHOWN." [BY I'ELEGE APH. —OWN* CORRESPONDENT, j HAMILTON. Thursday. A case of unusual interest was heard in the Hamilton Supreme Court to-day when a young man, Lawrence Burton (Mr. W. J. King) was charged with the theft of a motor-cycle, valued at £2O, tlie property of Royland Leo Gallichan. Accused pleaded not guilty. The Crown solicitor, Mr. 11. T. Gillies, said it was alleged that Burton stole Gallichan's motor-cycle and removed the engine and other parts, which he affixed to an old motor-cycle frame. The frame of the stolen machine was found in the Waikato River. Other parts of Gallichan's machine were found buried under the house in which Burton lived. Constable D. 11. Sutton gave evidence that the motor-cycle frame found in the river belonged to Gallichan's cycle, but an engine, found in the river, belonged t.o a cycle accused bad bought from a Hamilton dealer. The constable said he interviewed the accused and examined a Triumph cycle in his possession. The engine numbers of this machine had been cut out. Gallichan was with him and identified a lamp and generator in Burton's possession as his (Gallichan's) property. Accused said the machine was in the same condition a-s when he bought it. Buried under Burton's iiouse were found sorm? number plates which witness said were ou Gallichan's cycle on the night the machine was stolen. Accused had no e.\ planation to offer as to how he got these plates. Witness demonstrated how the number plates produced fitted the frame of Gallichan's cycle. Burton maintained that he had not interchanged any of the parts. His machine was in the same condition as when he bought it. . Contention by Accused. Royland Leo Gaillichan gave evidence regarding the identification of motor cycle parts and number plates found under Burton's house. The engine found in the river was not the property of witness and the number on the engine a! tached to Burton's machine had been cut out. Frederick Woods, cycle mechanic who accompanied Constable Sutton and Gallichan to Burton's house, gave corroborative evidence. He knew Galli chan's machine and identified some ol the parts belonging to it, which were found under Burton's house. Evidence was given by the police that Burton was a young man of good character, whose parents were highly respected. Accused gave evidence that he purchased a Triumph motor-cycle on July 14, 1925. The machine was not in good order and broke down. A man named Jack Hay helped him. Hay said he was a motor mechanic and he offered to repair the machine. Hay came to accused's house and effected repairs, for which accused paid him £3. He did not see Hay bring any machine parts with him or take any away. Denial of Theft. Accused said he did not steal Gallichan's cycle. He had been unable to find Hay. He did not know the cycle parts produced were under his house until the police found them. He was not attempting to shield anyone. Accused's mother said she remembered a man coming to the house to help her son repair his motor-cycle. Witness would not be able to identify the man. She had a second son who was a motormechanic. Mr. King, for the defence, said the case was an extraordinary one. The preparation of the case had been in the hands of a very capable and conscientious officer, Constable Sutton, and counsel had to admit that it had been proved that the parts found in Burton's!, possession had belonged to Gallichan's machine. The question the Crown had to prove was whether Burton had stolen Gallichan's machine and whether he had interchanged the parts with his own cycle. Accused maintained that the man Hay had been responsible for the theft and for the alterations that were made. Mr. Gillies described Burton's story as palpably absurd and questioned whether such a man as Hay ever existed. A Verdict of Guilty. His Honor said it was admitted by the defence that Gallichan's cycle had been stolen and that parts of the stolen machine were found on Burton's machine and in his possession. Where was the mysterious man Hay ? The jury was entitled to regard the story told by prisoner as incredible. After a retirement of nearly an hour the jury returned a verdict of* guilty. A further charge that Burton stole an Indian motor-cycle valued at £lO7, the property of Raymond Sydney Carter, was also proceeded with. Accused pleaded not guilty. The Crown solicitor explained that a boy found parts of an Indian motor-cycle in the Waikato River. Parts of Carter's cycle had been removed and attached to the frame of a similar make of cycle owned by Burton. The jury who heard the first case then returned and when Burton heard the verdict he altered his plea in the second case to one of guilty. Tribute to Constable. When prisoner came up for sentence half an hour later Mr. King said that Burton had led an honest and industrious life since leaving college. Counsel considered the jury's verdict a proper one. But the prisoner had been obsessed with the idea of his innocence all through. Prisoner had been addicted to no bad habits and his lapse was unaccountable. His Honor said that prisoner had been convicted in the first case on the clearest possible evidence and on the second charge he had pleaded guilty. The Judgetook 'into consideration the . fact that prisoner had previously led an honest life, but he had to deal with two separate thefts, which had been carried out with more than ordinary skill and ingenuity. 1 More than that prisoner had gone into I the box and perpetrated a fabrication. The crime of stealing motor vehicles was becoming too common in the community, said the Judge, and was difficult to detect. Constable Sutton had worked up the case with extreme care and deserved credit for the way in which he. J investigated the matter and presented the case to the jury. The prisoner was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment with hard labour on each count, the sentences to run concurrent! v.