DARING BURGLARY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21844, 5 July 1934, Page 10

DARING BURGLARY

JEWELLERY AND CUPS VALUABLE GOLD TROPHIES SUBURBAN HOUSE ENTERED OWNER'S LARGE LOSS A daring burglary was committed late yesterday afternoon or early, in tho evening at tho home of Mrs. W. R. Sweetapple, 3 George Streot, Newmarket, jewellery and three gold cups valued at nearly £BOO being stolen The articles were taken from rooms at the front of the house, and there were no indications, of any disturbance in the remainder of the premises. Entry was gained evidently by means of an open fanlight above a window of a front bedroom. It is thought that the window could have been opened easily and that it was closed onco the intruders were inside the house. As the residence is somewhat below the level of tho road it would have been possible for the thieves to have entered the house in that wa.v without much risk of being seen, especially if the theft were committed about dusk. No one was at home after 4 p.m. The discovery of the theft was made at 7.30, when Mr. Sweetapple and his nephew reached home from the city. The house was at once seen to be in a state of disorder, and the absence of three gold cups, representing successes Mrs. Sweetapple had secured at trotting, was noticed at once. The cups ordinarily were in the sitting room. The wooden stands of two of the cups had been discarded by the thieves, but the stand of the third cup was affixed firmly to the trophy. Missing Jewellery The cups are valued at some £2OO and are fine examples of the goldsmith's art. Two of them were won at Waikato meetings by the horses Torpedo Huon and Great Change, and the third was won at Hawke's Bay by Arachno.

The burglary was immediately reported to tho Auckland detective office, and a further examination of the premises was made to establish the extent of the theft. Mr. and Mrs. Sweetapplo were at business in the city during the day. When Mrs. Sweetapple reached her home she was able to give particulars of a quantity of valuable jewellery which was missing from a bedroom.

A door of a wardrobe had been forced open by the thieves, and two jewel cases were- secured. They were not removed from the house, the intruders making a selection which consisted of most of the pieces, although* they overlooked some valuable articles. The principal pieces taken were a large diamond cluster ring valued at more than £l5O, a gold bracelet with diamond clusters valued at £IOO, and an emerald and diamond ring valued at £55.

The other articles taken included five diamond rings valued at more than £l3O, a two-stone emerald ring valued at £lO, a pearl pendant valued at £2O, two gold wristlet watches valued at more than £3O, and four bangles and two rings valued at more than £4O. Including the gold cups, the value of these articles alone exceeds £730, but several articles were taken the value of which has not yet been estimated. Mrs. Sweetapple had not ascertained in entirety last evening the full extent of her loss.

Other Articles Stolen "This is . a dreadful happening to me," she stated. "I know that other articles are gone. One is a gold locket and chain which I have prized because of its family interest, and there are other articles possessing the same sentiment for me."

While the jewels could easily have been put in the pockets of the thieves, the removal of the cups must have presented a difficulty. A suitcase belonging to Mr. Sweetapple was missing, and it is possible that the cups were placed in it. The cups were standing on an extremely valuable canteen of cutlery, which evidently escaped the notice of the intruders. They were apparently in haste while they were searching elsewhere in the house, for several valuable pieces of jewellery, including a pendant and a necklace, which had been with the other articles, had evidently fallen from the jewel boxes and had escaped their attention. In the two front bedrooms, which were subject to the most intensive search, drawers had been pulled out roughly and the contents left in a state of disorder. The thieves did not operate in an orderly fashion, and conducted their search at random. Several compartments in the rooms where they had searched were not opened. No money had been loft about the house. A party of detectives was assigned tothe inquiry. Theft of Two Oars Mrs. Swcetapple has had remarkably unfortunate experiences at the hands of the criminal element of the community. The garage at her home was forced open in January last year and a valuable motor-car was stolen. In the following month, a second car owned by her, and valued at £450, was stolen from the same garage. The second car played a part in one of the episodes which have served to show the desperate character of the car thieves operating in Auckland. A constable who had learned the description of Mrs. Sweetapple's car later saw the vehicle in Newton, and he questioned two young men who were about to enter it. One man grappled with him, and the other struck him on the face with an iron bar. The two men made off after the assault.