PRISONER'S CRIMES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21391, 16 January 1933, Page 11

PRISONER'S CRIMES

BENNETT BEFORE COURT TWO BURGLARIES ADMITTED OFFENCES WHILE AT LIBERTY Seven charges were preferred against Charles Bennett, aged 26, labourer, who escaped from the Hautu prison camp on February 20 last and who was arrested recently near Te Kuiti, when ho was brought before Mr. J. H. Salmon, S.M., at the Magistrate's Court at Wanganui last week. Two of the charges were indictable, namely, breaking, entering and theft at Waverley and Westmere. Of the remaining five charges three were of theft and two of causing wilful damage. Pleas of guilty were entered in each case. On the first two counts Bennett was committed for sentence at Auckland and in respect to the other offences he was convicted and discharged and ordered to inako restitution of cash and goods stolen. Frederick Johnston, a fanner, residing at Waverley, said that during the early part of March his house was unoccupied while ho was camping at the beach, although he visited it every day. On March 4 ho had been at tho house most of the day and on leaving it he had securely fastened the windows and bolted all the doors. Returning the following morning at eight o'clock he found that a kitchen , window had been broken and tho latch removed, that everything in the house was topsy-turvy" and that it had been ransacked. A cash box had been opened and property to the value of £9B had been stolen. Store and Dwelling Entered Arthur Charles Robinson, a storekeeper at Westmere, said that when he had left his premises on March 2 last the doors wero doubly locked. When he returned the following morning he found that both locks had been forced and the shop had been ransacked. Examination showed that tins of fruit and some cordial were missing, which he valued altogether at 17s lOd. Detective Murray said that on January 10 last he had interviewed Bennett, who had told him that he had broken into the house at Waverley and stolen certain articles from it. Some of these hehad afterwards hidden on the river bank at Aramoho, but when the detective and Bennett went to find them they were not to be seen. Bennett admitted hiding other articles stolen from Waverley at Awakino. These had been found on March 11 last. Bennett had also made a statement, in which he said that he had broken into Mr. Johnston's house after he had seen Mr. Johnston go down to the beach. Later he had changed a sovereign at Waitotara and travelled to Wanganui. Bennett had also made a statement admitting that he had entered Mr. Robinson's store with Norris before continuing on to Waverley, where Norris had been arrested. Conversion of Cars When Bennett escaped from the prison camp, said Detective Murray, he was serving a sentence of three years' imprisonment for breaking and entering, and had served some 16 months of his sentence. On February 24, four days after they escaped, he and Norris had unlawfully converted a car at Ongarue and had stolen articles valued at £4 after they had abandoned the car on the following day. On February 29 the pair had made their way to Wanganui, where, in attempting to steal benzine from two parked cars, they had caused wilful damage to both by breaking the benzine pipe near tho carburetter. On ■ March 8 Bennett had unlawfully converted a car at Wanganui and had stolen £6 worth of articles when, the car had been abandoned the following day at Mokau. On September 16 Bennett had stolen a battery at Ongarue and had attached it to a motor-cycle which he had stolen. The battery had since been recovered in a damaged condition. Bennett had been before the Court at Te Awamutu on December 23 and for escaping from custody had been sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment in addition to his present sentence.