BENTLEY'S BREAK.

NZ Truth, Issue 406, 5 April 1913, Page 7

BENTLEY'S BREAK.

He Had Been Up on "The

Terrace."

Why Be Had an "Instrnment."

Supposed He'd Not Get More Than Ten

Years.

With . all the eagerness of a Sunday School youngster coming forward to receive his good conduct prize, Edward Ruffelo Bentley bounced before Mr. W. G. Riddell, S.M., ■ at the Magistrate's Court, Wellington, on Wednesday last to explain why he was caught on the night of March 28 m Chew's X.ane armed with

(Who was Armed with an "Instrument")

an, instrument 'With Intent to break into the Windsor Billiard Saloon and commit a crime. . Edward Ruffelo is 21 years of age, and possesses a tangled mass of thatch, which gives him the appearance of a HALF RIPE PADEREWSKI OR A KUBBLIK. He wears a smile, of the "won't come oft?' variety, and divided his attention between listening to the evidence of the various witnesses and smoothing the crop of down which" is just beginning to peep through above his upper lip. His general .appearance .would hardly lead one to believe that he had been convicted several times m different parts of New Zealand for fair-sized breaches of the law and lately m; Wellington 'for smaller- offences of the light-fingered order. : : The vVinstruinent',' mentioned jon the charge-sheet was : a formidable-looking bar of; iron an inch thick and a -couple of feet long, whi6h,recUned with abig clasp knife on the court table.- .; Inspector Hendrey' conducted the case on behalf of the /police, "whilst Beatley went "solo" m thevhan&ling of his own interests. v':\-y * '«'' -'* Frederick Wm^-Needh'am, manager of the Windsor Billiard V, Saloon, gave evidence of having 'locked up the premises at about lO.SOion the, night of the 27th and left cash" inside amounting to. something under ,v£ 50. '- Maximilian Juriss, a' nighttfatchman. said he was on duty m Chew's Lane on the nighfcin^uestjon.c^d.as-, he entered the lane h^' caught sight of 'a man moving near lth^: billed saloon 'door. When Juriss approached 'accuses ' .■ .; PRETENDED TO BE -ASLEEP, but answered- that he was haying a rest, when witness ' questioned', 'him as to his presence' m 'the,' doorway. ! Deeming the answer unsatisfactory, ' Jurist signalled with his flashilamp to a passing constable. .Behtleyvasked; witness .what the flash-light was for, 'and just as the latter replied. Constable Thompson entered the lane m answer to! the signal. When Bentley sighted the constable looming over the horizon he made a run for his liberty. Juriss and Constable Thompson gave chase, and eventually caught the fugitive m a yard at the back of Custom-house-street. He admitted his intention of breaking into the saloon, and explained that he wanted a few shillings to gee out of the Country. As a proof of his estimable character, he Intimated that he had been 'up on the Terrace" until the previous Tuesday. , Further examination by Inspector Hendrey revealed the tacts that it was until the accused jumped up from the doorstep and ran away that he (witness) noticed the iron bar, one end of which was stuck between the folding doors. The latter were marked where the iron bar had been used to force them open. Bentley (.\o witness) : I've got one ques- , tion for you. You say you run mo down? Juriss: Yes, certainly. You lay down, thinking the- constable and I would pass you. Bentley (scornfully): I should say I sat down and WAITED FOR YOU TO CATCH ME. If I had cared to, I could have run straight down the street, and you would' •never have caught me. His Worship chipped iri here, and informed Bentley that he could ask questions, but was not allowed to argue. Bentley (resuming his cross-examina-tion): I said I was having a rest, didn't I? Juriss: Yes, when I asked you what you were doing at the door. Bentley:. Well, so I was having a rest. There was no lie about that. „ With the air of one who had placed his opponent hbrs-de -combat Bentley subsided. Albert Winter, night porter at the Empire Hotel, heard the police whistle at the time all the excitement m Chew's Lane was m progress. He scented something out. of the ordinary and ran out into Victoria-street. After some trouble he came upon the scene of operations m Chew's Lane. He saw the constable, the nightwatchman, the accused, the "Implements" and thft. damaged door, and at once deduced that an attempt had been made to forcibly gain an entry to the billiard saloon. He heard the accused say that the "jemmy. wouldn't last much longer, as the door was too solid. Constable Thompson said he was on duty m Willis-street at 4.30 a.m. on the 28th ult. when he noticed someone hrtlt"way down Chew's Lane. On going into tho lane he caught sight of the nightwatchman, who flashed his lamp, blow his whistle, SHOUTED "COME ON," and then started to run. Witness, seeing at once that there was a "clue," also broke into a gallop, and when he dre;v up alongside of Juriss, saw the accused with a lead of from 20 to 30 yards. As the constable rushed past the door of tho billiard saloon his eagle eye spied the "implement" sticking m the door. Resuming the narrative concerning tho chase, witness said that after crosslnfi Victoria-street he and Juriss lost sight of Bentley as he entered a yard near the Greymouth Coal Co.'s yard. Eventually they found him on a doorstep m an adjacent yard trying to conceal himself. When questioned by witness, Bontloy admitted his intentions regarding the Windsor Billiard Saloon, and went on to say that ho sot the bar from "across the