Five Years For Waters and Carroll

NZ Truth, Issue 1198, 15 November 1928, Page 5

Five Years For Waters and Carroll

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To Side-step Bankruptcy 1 ' ■ i- * ■■--■... .- j — -i. .."-y-wrT"! i -i.i i. ii.'-'. i . -

Groceries Removed

Re-trial Application ■■■'-■'" ■ 'V. ■' "I'-*'

• : _ ■ NQT for q. considerable time had a. ♦ Supreme Court judge commented so strqngiy m a case as did. Judge Smith when the two men .ca.me before mm fpr sentence Jaat week, following their COnViCtiOR after a. trial lasting two days. The sentence of the court on both men was three years' hard labor, to be followed- by a period of reformative detention not exceeding two years. Carroll's counsel notified his intention of applying for a re-trial on the grounds that the conviction was. against the weight of evidence. The story of the sentenced men's orime is an amazing narrative of a 0001-headed, ounningiy»canoeived plot. Carroll, after he left the polioe force, opened a .grocery gtqre m PQijscmby,

\ - ._, ,;■; -^ \ and it was the destruction of the premises by explosion and fire that led to the pair's ultimate arrest and undying. At the time of the Ore Waters was y, constable, and m addition to his ordinary duties he acted, as mesa, caterer for .the police mess. It was m this capacity that his fate became linked up with that of Carroll, whom he had .known m the force. When Carroll set up m business Waters purchased many Qf the mesa grocery supplies from his shop. It was on August 30 last that a plot was put into execution. Shortly after nine o'clock that eve.nina a motor-car wa« seen to drive up to Carroll's store, and a. quantity of groceries was removed from it. . . II1IIUIIIIIIIIIII|IIIIU|IIUIIII|III|II1IIIIIII|IIIIIIIII|IMIIIIIIII|II!!|III!I!IIIIIIII!I!!IIN|IIII

Convicted of Setting Fire To Store For Insurance Money LOSSES OF £1100 INVOLVED (From "N.Z, Truth's" Special. -Auckland Representative.) Littl* more than three months ago PoHQQ.qonstajble Sydney Francis Waters, Qf Auckland, was called out from the ranks of the parade and congratulated by his superior officers for a particularly smart piece of work m arresting 1 a, burglar, Tq-4ay Waters is a convicted and condemned priminal who will languish m. prison for the next five years. With another man, an exrconstable named Thomas Francis Carroll, Waters was convicted of arson, . .-} *

The goods were tafcejfi to the house of v man named Murphy, a brother-in-law of Waters, but there was never any auggestion duvins the trial tha.t Murphy" was aware that anything criminal was qn foot, Both Murphy ancl his wife were shown to be innocent yf all knowledge of the affair. CaiTQll was not present at the fire ,or during the removal of the groceries, but m a statement to the police he admitted that he knew the place, was to be destroyed jjy fire on the night the blaze qooqrred. ; ' ' ■ When Waters and Carroll came before Judge Smith for sentence the court was well filled with interested spectators, many of them being members of the pulice force. ■ ""'■ lawyer Allan Jloody, who^ appeared

for Waters, prefaoed his .remnrlcs to the bench, by asking for. leniency m view of the jury's l'epoijimehilalion 10 mercy, and also m view of the excellent record- Waters' had .borne both m and out of the poiice ; force. "Only three months ago Wa.tera was called out from a parade of constables and complimented by a hiffh offleer on his conduct m ai-resting a burglar,' 1 said, QQunseU : ' , .;'. ; career is now rutned, and m bringing disgrace on himself he has also m a, .. sense brought refleetiom upon the force," . • Raters' arm had been injured m the explosion, counsel pointed out, adding that he would have, to re^ ceive hospital treatment fpr seme time.;. •■ ■ ./' ' , : ■■■•■'."■ ■,-■' •"; ' i„; -■ ; : . . '''■■" '■ ■■;■■■

0.--^-. •--•-- .., -V ..■'-'■..•-^■. -„.-;■; Gounsel knew it was futile ageing for probation, but he could only asjt the cQiirt, m view ,oi Waters' disabled arm and the fact that on the nj§ht of the oj^eheQ he was under the influence Of liqupr, to inflict as light a sentence as the; bench might deem consistent with his duty to the cgufitry. • ape^ldnir on behalf: of c&ryoU) Law^ yer J. J. Sullivan urged that Carroll's record Avou.ld be shgwrj m the police fll§ to be an upbjeinlshed one prior to thji§ Oharffe b;ein.f .laid against him, He tlipuglit his record Would be shown tQ-be as good as iha^ybf'Waters, Qaiv roll had not long b.eeo' married, and .\m\s : -brought ruin upoj* hjs'wife, . dpunseliaßked f oi- leniency on the grqimds that m these da,yg the idea of

punishment was reformative 'rather than punitive, . ' -..* __■.; • Crown Prosequtor jiferecUth. empfta^ sized the : -gravity ; cif the bffQnqe pointing' out that men -Uke the. prisoners, AYho. had been/in the; police 'force, would, be e^peot^d io be observers of the law ao<t pi'o*ectQra pf the B«Wic against wroner- doing, Hja ■h.qn.or- mo.de some^ scathing eonr ment before pft§sixig sentence. The jCase was olearly a bad on©; said the judge. The Rrigpners ha.d caHowsly invplved the owner? of the shop building m a |oas of ;gSQQ over and above insurance, andjthe insurance qompany m an unneces- . aary loss pf <E6QO, , > ; HavWl: cpmmQn.te.a on: the jirrajvity of the oi'ime p£ arson, whioh ftppeured

) r-r—^-^^-. rr^rr-. r-^~—. to be en the. increase, his hQnor the court could not take a lenient view of the offence, i There was no dQuht that the store was burned to enable Carroll to save himself, frgm bankruptcy by making pps.si)?je q. fiptitio.u§ pi&im upon the. ih=. surance company, ahd to attain that miserable §nd the 1 prisoners brought about a destructive fir© which was explosive m its nature. Considering the deliberate nature of the crime, the prevalence of arson and the difficulty In detecting this class of crim.e, his honor said that it was difficult to understand the. jury's recommendation to mercy. The pnly pos-, sib]e ground for the recpmmenda.tion must have been the prisoners' hitherto clean records.

, Sentence was then passed and. on the additional charge/ of -making."?, false declaration Carroll was . sentenced to %■ further- njne months, tQ be. Q.oneu^r^nt. /with the TOMQF fentenee, ,BQt.h men h^avd theiJF^sentqnces ujimoved and shp^yeel np tra.ce of emotion .'. throughput the ordeal. }■. ,». | ■ .After hearing lengthy legal argu- I ment f rppi • cquhsll on' the application qf ; Lawyer Sulliyan for. a, i'e-ti<ial m the. case of Carroll, Judge Smith intimated that, he woii?a,."'.consult".-.the authorities and cases. quoted and give his' decision lat^r, . . '■ -