GOODS IN CAR

New Zealand Herald, Volume 81, Issue 24827, 25 February 1944, Page 5

GOODS IN CAR

FOUND NEAR WHARF CHARGES AGAINST TWO MEN Describing himself as a civil servant, and secretary and Crown representative of the Armed Forces Appeal Board, Leslie Xielson Harris, clerk, aged 40 (Mr. Goldstine), was charged before Mr. F. H. Levien, S.M., yesterday, with the theft of dress materials valued at £9 ss, the property of the New Zealand Shipping Company, Limited, and with receiving the materials knowing them to have been dishonestly obtained. A seaman. Colin Webster, aged 31 (Mr. 'Henry), was charged with the theft ol the materials. Harris elected to be dealt with by the Supreme Court, while Webster elected summary jurisdiction. The discovery that a case of dress materials consigned to a Wellington firm had been pillaged on an overseas ship was described by a claims clerk of the Federal Steam Navigation Company, Limited, Kenneth Alexander Martin, when evidence on the charges preferred against Harris was called. The Auckland agents lor the cargo were the Xew Zealand Shipping Company. Limited. When the case was examined it was found that 14 lengths of dress material, totalling 35 yards, had been taken. Witness could not say when the case had been pillaged, but it was possible that it had occurred in Wellington. Dress Materials Found A constable who was on duty at the gates of Central Wharf last Friday night gave evidence that at about 11.3*0 lie noticed a Morris sedan motor-car parked outride the gates. Under a man s overcoat on the back seat of the car he lound a quantity of unwrapped dress materials. He locked the car and reported the matter to two detectives. Y\ hile doing patrol duty on Friday night for the purpose of detecting pil- | laging on the wharf, said Detective Slater, lie kept a watch on the car. At 12.10 a.m. he and Detective Robinsop saw accused and a seaman named Webster, a _ member of the crew of the ship on which cargo had been pillaged, leave Central Wharf and go to the car. Ihe two detectives approached and asked who owned the vehicle. Both men said they did not know. They were both obviously under the influence of liquor. Later, both men gave their cor- ' rect names and Harris admitted owning | the car. Told that dress materials were j inside, he denied all knowledge of them. When witness said he was going to search the car, accused questioned his authority. On the floor of the car was found a lifejacket which had been <plit open and tilled with materials. Accused also denied knowledge of this. His home was searched, but nothing was found that had no right to be there. Theft Charge Dismissed At the close of the police case Mr. Gqldstine_ submitted that there w?s no evidence in support of the theft charge and it should therefore be withdrawn. He proposed to call evidence on the charge of receiving. Agreeing with counsel's submission, the magistrate discharged accused on the theft count. In the witness-box, accused said he had left his motor-car parked, unlocked, in Queen Street near Civic Buildings from Friday morning until 6 p.m. lie went to his car once in that time, at 2.30 p.m. He met Webster, who was his wife's cousin, in a hotel bar at 5.45 p.m. At 6 p.m. he and Webster drove down to Eudean's Buildings, where they had dinner at the Royal Xew Zealand Yacht Squadron's premises. He left his car unlocked in Queen Street. They left there about 11 p.m. and drove to the wharf, as Webster said he had some laundry on board his ship which he wished to get. Webster invited accused on board and they had some drink on the ship. When they returned to the car, the ignition keys of which had been left in position, they were accosted by two detectives Explanation of Denial Accused denied owning the car because he had had a fair amount to drink and he thought he would be arrested for being intoxicated in charge of a vehicle, in addition he had parked it in a prohibited place. He was sure the detectives were questioning him on account of his condition. He had never seen the dress materials or the lifejacket before and did not know they were in his car. The overcoat belonged to Webster. Cross-examined by Detective-Ser-geant Trethewey, accused said he held a responsible position and the case meant a lot to him. He objected to a search being made of his car, as his wife's cousin might have been in trouble and he might have been able to save him. The detectives bad said something about dress materials being in the car. He had no clear recollection of every word that passed and was not in, a position to contradict any of the detectives' evidence. Accused said he did not know if Webster felt under an obligation for the hospitality accused had given him. Webster had said to him on Monday that he had committed a mean action in causing accused to be suspected of something to which he was not a party. Evidence of Seaman "1 -wrapped some of them round my body and secured them with my moneybelt," said Colin Webster in evidence, admitting that he had brought the dress materials ashore with him on Friday afternoon. Under his raincoat he had a lifejacket which had some material in it. He went, into a hotel and took the materials from under his clothes, wrapped them in a newspaper ami went to accused's car, said witness. He knew where accused usually parked |j is car. It was unlocked, and he put; the dress materials beneath the driver's j seat and the lilejacket, wrapped inside his coat, in the back of the car. He then returned to the ship and brought more dress materials ashore wrapped around his body. These also he wrapped in newspaper and put in | accused's car. . j Webster said he later met, accusedin j a hotel. He did not disclose the exist- j enee of the materials to accused because j witness knew that accused would not j approve. Witness said he took the full blame, as it was all his doing and he had put accused wrongly under suspicion. The bearing was then adjourned until j to-day. On the charge of theft. Web-j stcr was remanded until to-day, both j accused being released on bail. YOUNG WOMAN'S OFFENCE Having admitted the theft of a j nurse's handbag containing money and : papers, Ruby Isobel Slakich, aged 20, ; appeared belore .Mr. Justice I'air for j >entenee yesterday. ! Mr. Aekins, on her behalf, said she j had never known home lite, and had | been supporting herself since she was 13. At the time of her arrest she was j employed as an bold housemaid at a \ wage of LI His 2d and keep. The greater part of the money she had taken had been spent, in making preparations for her child. Mrs. Harvey, secretary of the Motherhood ol Man Movement, was prepared to make arrangements for her care. His Honor placed accused on probation for three years, on condition that she made restitution and remained in St. Mary's Homes for nine mouths. ESCAPE FROM HOSPITAL A charge of leaving a place of isolation before being discharged by the medical officer in charge of the hospital was admitted by a Maori domestic, Beatrice Smith, aged 18, before Mr. F. H. Levien, S.M., yesterday. Accused was convicted on a charge of being idle and disorderly, said Sub-Inspector TLartey, and sent to the Auckland Hospital for examination before being sentenced. She left without permission. The examination had proved negative. The magistrate imposed a sentence of one month's imprisonment.