DRAMATIC SUICIDE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22315, 13 January 1936, Page 13

DRAMATIC SUICIDE

BOY GANGSTER'S END TRAPPED BY DETECTIVES CONSTABLE SHOT IN STREET [from our own correspondent] SYDNEY, Jan. 8 The growth of a new and dangerous type of larrikinism in Sydney since the depression has been revealed by the exploits of an 18-years-old youth known as the "Boy Gunman." Four days after shooting a police constable the youth shot himself dead with his last bullet when trapped by detectives in the cellar of a house at Waterloo, a Sydney suburb. The callousness of the shooting of the constable aroused public indignation and started police on a relentless hunt for the young criminal, whom they learned the following day to be James Alfred Penrose, a desperate young gang leader and known gunman. The shooting arose from a trivial incident. A conductor remonstrated with six young men who were riding free on the running-board of a tram. They refused to leave, and the conductor called Constables Archinal and Blackman, near the Central railway station. The youths leaped from the tram and fled. Archinal and Blackman chased them along several streets, when one of the men fell over. Archinal was about to arrest him when one of the other youths whipped out a revolver. In a flash the man on the ground had regained his feet and bolted. Two shots rang out, the bullets whizzing past Archinal. The armed man turned and fled, Archinal pluckily setting out after him. A taxi dashed past, and as he dodged from the policeman the gunman was struck. He staggered, quickly regaining his balance, and ran. Day and Night Search It was as the second shot was fired that Constable J. Terbutt and a sergeant drove up in a car. ' Look after the car, sergeant!" Terbutt called out. He jumped out while the police car, which he had been driving, was still travelling at a fast rate. Terbutt almost overhauled the fleeing gunman at whom he fired a shot. When he was within 3ft. of the fugitive the latter turned with his revolver levelled, and shot lerbutt through the forehead. Archinal, who had continued the chase, lost sight of the gunman, so ran to assist his wounded companion. The bullet fractured Terbutt's skull in two places, and, it is believed, lodged in portion of the brain. He was not expected to live, but two days later regained consciousness. His condition is improving, but doctors have not yet been able to X-ray him to locate the bullet. . Detectives searched day and night for Penrose, paying particular attention to empty houses. His acquaintances were too scared to offer him food or shelter, but in a 14-year-old girl he found his only friend. By deceiving the police, whom she had offered to help, she was able to keep Penrose supplied with food and informed him of police movements, so that he was able to shift from one hiding-place to another when danger threatened. Finally the police suspected the girl of duplicity and she was shadowed. She evaded them on several occasions, but ultimately they learned where Penrose was concealed. As they approached the house through teeming rain at 4 a.m., the backyard gate opened and the girl stepped out cautiously. The detectives seized her and her warning shout, was too late. The police burst open the gate and, while the girl was borne away to a police car, Detective-Sergeant McCarthy, closely followed by DetectiveInspector Smith, rushed forward, ihev did not know that Penrose had only one cartridge left in his revolver. They did realise that he might try to shoot his way to freedom. But McCarthy had no hesitation in going for his man. Revolver Turned on Himself The bright ray of his torch picked out Penrose against the furthest wall. The youth's hand swept to his pocket and McCarthy, knowing that the pocket contained a gun, fired. His bullet crashed into a box alongside Penrose, who, drawing his revolver, placed it to his temple, pulled the trigger and fell back dead. The police found later that his weapon contained only one empty shell. As the shots echoed through the neighbourhood the girl in the police car stifled a scream and almost collapsed. When the dead youth s clothes were searched the detectives were surprised to find a note indicating that he had contemplated suicide. In it he said that without a job he could only resort to thieving, and he hated the thought of gaol. "I would rather die," ran the note. He went on to describe where he had hidden his clothing worn on the night of the shooting of Constable Terbutt, in a vacant allotment. Penrose knew no home life since a child, his parents separating and leaving him to the care, of relatives. He began a career of crime at the age of nine and had many convictions. He was a clever scholar, but except tor a casual job in a glass works was never in employment, and spent all his time in the company of criminals.