CLARK'S CACHE

NZ Truth, Issue 1173, 24 May 1928, Page 5

CLARK'S CACHE

A Poker Stbry-r-But NoNames (From "N.Z. Truth's" Christchurch Rep.) \ ■. - . / When Norman Clark, broke into , the premises of Charles P. Kupries,\ a Christchurch tobacconist, one .'. dark night and stole £20 m hard cash, he thought he had doneyery - well for himself and was optimistic enough to think that his crime would go undetected. DUT, unfortunately for Clark, lie was P observed leaving the. premises, and, more unfortunately still,, he. lingered m an adjoining right-of-way., ; •.-. .-,".. When charged with the theft m the Supreme Court last week,. Clark- w?Ls not the least bit. abashed and told a fantastic tale m the witness-box which the Crown Prosecutor described as "an impudent perjury.'.' . . ■;■ Notwithstanding the fact that* Clark was discovered, to be "m possession of 40 two-shilling pieces and 22 half-crowns after his arrest he had an excuse all ready. , The fact was, he declared, that he was apoker player, and enjoyed a little game m a house m Bealey Avenue two or three times a, week. And the pickings had been good— hence* the, loose silver.: '■ ■: : : '■' .'■" r ' V ' ■' *■■■-■: When Clark . was .- asked by.. Crown ' Prosecutor Donnelly to hanie his poker friends, however, he shut- up -like a book. He was nbtjbetraying.his friends.No, sir, it simply was not dorie^r-at least, not m the circles m; which/Clark moved. But Norman had still to explain away his presence m the right-of-way near the burgled premises. :.'■■ : ■'■ NORMAN'S DENIAL Well,' it was like this, hp explained. He lived: not far from Kupries' shop and had been out that particular even - He -was standing m the right-of-way when he was approached by two men who asked him for a match. . Norman, being an obliging sort of chap, gave ..them a. light, but pplitely declined a drink which the other two asked him- to have as a mark, of their appreciation: for the niatch. Clark then left them and strolled slowly along to his lodgings. He' denied emphatically, that he had ever been near Kupries'. shop; m spite of the evidence of two witnesses who said they saw him m Kupries' backyard. ■;■■'■■ That was all Norman could say about, it, so Lawyer Batchelor took \iip the running f or. him and told the jury that ClarK was justified i^ declining to implicate his poker friends. : , ".-. . His story was consistent with.innocence and the jury were invited -to give Clark the benefit of their verdict. ' Lawyer Donnelly put a. totally different viewpoint before the jury where Clarkj's own story was concerned. He described it as "an impudent fabrication and a lyjn^ statement." . "Why did he decline ■, to 'tell us who these friejids ofl his were with whom he had been playing poker? "Why? Because there a^e no such people, that is Why." I - y '"■• ' ' " .-/;■ ..;' ■„;■ In spite of this slating from the Crown Prosecutor,. Clark looked, quite at- ease and full' of confidence - that he would get away with it, but the jury—after .a'- retirement^bf an hour and a-half-r-dashed his hopes to the ground with a verdfct of guilty. '■■■;:■■ ]■;.■.:,/';; \: ]^},." ■-'■"■■"■ "The. prisoner V^nt.twt6 the box and told a fantastic story] and -put up an obviously untrue defence on :oath," remarked the. judge, 'wheii passing sentence. .-. '•....• .i. 1 .'■' \.' : 'V-': } ' ; ; : ,•'■•. ' , The question of probation : could ; . not' be applied and sentence' of reformative detention^ for : a. periofl: hbt; exceeding two years was passed. j