CITY POLICE COURT.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 12425, 7 August 1902, Page 8

CITY POLICE COURT.

Wednesday, August 6. (Before Mr C. C. Graham, S.M.) ' Drunkenness.—A first offender was fined :sa, or in' default 21 hours' imprisonment, for drunkenness in Princes street. Alleged Theft.—Jane Brown, Cecilia Chatterley, alias Phillips, Edward Brown, and Charles Brown-.were charged with having stoJen. ; iG- 10s,. tlio property of one Edward H'anliin, in„.fche dwelling of Edward Brown, SiHetir-'slrect.—Mr' Irwin appeared for the. accused.—Sub-inspector Dwyer, 111 opening the case, said the prosecutor was a fireman on board the Mararoa. On the night of August 4 lie had been up town, and when going along Stuart street -was accosted by the two femaio accused, .whphad asked him to shout for them. Hi''had taken"them to tho Law Courts Hotel and shouted twice; : Rankin had then arranged to go to the house occupied by the two females, and (lid so later, staying in Chatterley's room. Ho had given Jane Brown 2s Cd to get somo liquor; About half an hour after lie had retired ho found the female accused Brown rifling his 'pookets. He put her out of tho room and looked at his tobacco pouch, v in which he kept' his money. /He had six , sovereigns..in-that, and they were safe then, 'fie awakened at 7.30 next morning, and found .tlier'that'liis" irioney was .gone. The accused denied knowledge o{ tho money, and tho prolocutor then reported the matter to the. policc. The detectives had searched the female accused, and found a sovereign in Chatterley's possession,, aiid another hidden behind a niantlepiece. "Tl\e prosecutor was present at the time, and when .the accused Jane Brown was attested she offered to pay back half ol . tlio money to'settle it. The two male accuser I liad first appeared on .the scene in. the morn- ' ing.—Mr' Irwin sni'd it was not a- theft from the person, as, the prosecutor's clothes were

not on his person; and it was not a theft frotu a dwelling, as the money had not been taken away from ilio dwelling. The question was whether the charge could be treated as an indictable offente or not. A theft from a dwelling was indictable, but he.submitted this was not a. tbelt from,a dwelling.—The Magistrate' said be would hear the evidence and decide the point later.—Edward.Rankin gave evidence. His evidence was- in support of the sub-

jnspector's opening.—Detective Cooney deposed to having, in' company with Acting Detective Connelly, searched "the house occupied by the accused, and to .the arrest. The two male accused had each denied any knowledge of the tlieft.—Atftinj*' Detective, Connelly gave corroborative evidence,—The Magistrate said he would treat the,charge as one of theft from a. dwelling.—Jlv Irwin submitted that there was lid case against Charles Brown, as he had'not appeared on the .scene until next morning, when .ho., had been seen in the house.—The Magistrate concurred, and dismissed the case against- Charles Brown.—Mr Irwin further contehded.'tbat there was no case against- Edwara Brown, as he had not been seen till next morning, when he claimed the sovereign found behind utile, inantleplece.' The polico evidence exonerated the woman Chatterley. It had navei'.-been suggested that she had ever had anything to do with the robbery. • The woman Brown .would tell a very different story from that tdld by the prosecutor.— I The Magistrate dismissed the charge against Edward Brown, and said lie procoaed committing the two females to the. Supreme Court for trial.— Defence being reserved, the two females were then committed for trial.

■Bufther Charge.—The two accused Jano Brown' and Edward Brown were further charged -with that,, on' Augus- 5, being the occupiers of a house in Filleul street they had knowingly permitted part thereof to be used as'a brothel.—They pleaded "Not guilty."— The Sub-inspector said his Worship had already heard the facts as stated in the previous ; Rankin gave evidence similar to that in the previous case.—"Detective Cooney also gave evidence, and stated that the female accused was a reputed prostituteyand the woman Chatterley bad been convicted of keeping n brotheli—Mr Irwin submitted that (lie female accused could not be convicted, she not being the lessee of the house.- Then the commission of one act did not constitute the house a- brothel. - There was no evidence that the male accused knowingly permitted the use of part of the liousc aSi a brothel. The evidence was to the contrary. The female accused might have been charged as managing such a house, tout- that was. not the charge. There was nothing to even prove that the male accused kiiew Rankin was' on the premises.—The Magistrate said, taking the whole of the circumstances into consideration, he had decided io convict. There was. no doubt that the males accused knew what was going on.—Mr Irwin submitted, that the woman would be in gaol until the criminal sittings, and there were children to be provided for.—Sub-inspector Dwyer said the children lijd been cared for by the Benevolent- institution, and they would be be-, tore 1 the court next day.—The Magistrate sentenced each.accused to one month's imprisonment. with hard labour.—Mr Irwin gave notice ; that he intended to appeal against the sentence, i\' ■■