CITY POLICE COURT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18513, 25 March 1922, Page 6

CITY POLICE COURT

FRIDAY, MARCH 24. (Before Mr H. W. Bundle, S.M.) Drunk and Disorderly.—Hugh M'Lean, charged with being drunk and disorderly m Maclaggan street the previous day, did not appear. He was fined £2. the amount of bail. —Isaac Buchanan was similarly charged with being drunk and disorderly in High street. Constable Moore said he saw accused in the centre of a large crowd, swinging his arms ; in the air. He was drunk, and resisted arrest. Accused said he had complained to the constable of an insult given . him by another man. —Sub-inspector Eccles gave evidence that he had seen accused shouting and struggling with a constable. A number of the crowd incited the accused to resist.—Accused denied that he had had any drink. He was convicted and fined £2. Maintenance Cases. —Daniel Cree made complaint for cancellation of arrears due on maintenance order. —Mr Anderson, on his behalf, said that the defendant had had four years’ war service. He was still suffering from the effects of that and was unble lo do anything but light work. He had been earning about £1 a fortnight. He admitted arrears of £4O 16s. He thought he could keep the order going. —The case was adjourned for a week to enable defendant to produce his Savings Bank book. James Hunter applied for tlie cancellation of arrears due by him under a maintenance order. He said he had been unable to work for 18 months on account of his shoulder. The court books showed that nothing had been paid on the order since 1915.—The probation officer, Mr Locke, said the department did not oppose the application for the remission of arrears. The arrears were remitted accordingly. James Lawrence Dougherty was charged with disobedience of a maintenance order, the arrears a! February 20 last amounting to £237 125.-—Sub-inspector Eccles said that the last payment was made on March 9. 1917. Defendant had already done three months’ imprisonment for disobedience of tlie order. —The case was adjourned to Port Chalmers. Application was made for the variation of a maintenance order against Kenneth M’Lcod for 6s a week for the maintenance of his child.—Air Wilkinson, for the complainant, contended that 6s a week was far too little, and asked that the amount of the order be increased. —Defendant, examined by Mr Wilkinson, said he was married and had one child. He was doing casual work. —The matter was adjourned for a fortnight.——ln the maintenance case Nellie Moulin v. Francis Alexander Moulin, (he complainant applied for a rehearing of the cose. A week ago he was sentenced, in his absence, to a fortnight’s imprisonment for failure to pay arrears. — Mr Irwin, for complainant, asked that defendant be not imprisoned as long as he kept up payments regularly of 5s weekly.— Defendant said he was paying £2 a week for the support of his children. —The application for a rehearing was granted, and an order made suspending the warrant for imprisonment as long as weekly payments of 5s were made. Samuel Theodore Jackson applied for the issue of a maintenance order against his son, Samuel Gdorge Jackson. a single man employed at the Ocean Beach freezing works, near Bluff.—The applicant said he had been in hospital 11 months out of the last 16 and was unable to work. He asked for an order for £1 a week against his son. —An order was made for the payment of 15s a week. Exemption from Military Training.— George Burn, an employee of the Taieri and Peninsula Milk Supply Company, applied for exemption from military training. —Exemption was granted from evening parades while .the applicant remained in his present employment. An Unregistered Rifle.—William Alexander Hill pleaded guilty to having an unregistered “Stevens’ Favourite” rule in his possession—Sub-inspector Eccles said defendant had come in a few days ago to register the rifle. He said he had been in before on the same errand, but no forms were then available.—He was fined 10s and court costs. 7s. Illegal Sale of Cigarettes.—William L. Buddicom was charged with selling cigarettes at a time when all tobacconists’ shops were closed by requistiom—JJe pleaded guilty, and was fined 10s, with court costa, 7s. The Compulsory Half-holiday.—Chin. Fooi and Co., laundrymen, were charged with failing to allow Chin Wee a half-holiday on Saturday from 1 p.m.—Air Moore, on defendant’s behalf, pleaded guilty. He explained to his client that for necessary work bn Saturday afternoons he must employ a boy over 18. Chin Wee was 16. —Defendant was fined £1 and costs and warned that if the offence was repeated a heavy penalty would follow. Plunkett Remanded.—Arthur Dominic Plunkett, who presented a rough and unkempt appearance in the box. was charged with being gn incorrigible rogise in that ho escaped from legal custody in Dunedin Gaol before the expiry of h's term of imprisonment, Plunkett pleaded guilty and consented to be tried by this court. Chiefdetective Bishop asked that he be remanded for a week for sentence. There were other serious charges pending against him. He was remaided accordingly till next Friday. Theft Charge Dismissed.—Thomas Gray Risk was charged with stealing on March 19 a pocket wallet valued at £1 and a diamond brooch valued at £l9. the property of Robert Spray. -Mr Irwin, on his behalf, entered a plea of not guilty. —Chief-detec-tive Bishop called first Robert Spray, a chef employed • by Barton and Trengrove. —Spray said he was slaying at the Metropolitan Hotel where he occupied a double room alone. He met accused on the afternoon of Saturday, the 18th inst., and saw him next morning on the footpath in front of the Metropolitan Rotel. The pocket book containing the diamond brooch produced was his. He left it on the mantelpiece in his room on Sunday morning. A recipe book was with it. He left the room at 1130 a.m., when it was there. At 4 p.m. he missed it and reported the matter to the police. He valued the diamond brooch at £35. Accused knew his room was No 6, and might have taken it in a joke.—To Air Irwin: Hd had never met accused before Saturday, the 18th inst. He asked Risk to come and see him on Sunday. ITo told Risk he could get him a “spot” if he liked. Witness had no discussion about leaving things lying about the room. On Sunday morning Rial: seemed to be under the influence of liquor. Witness thought it might have been a joke, but it was a bed joke.—Annie Hope wife of the licensee of the Metropolitan Hotel, said the complainant Spray was a boarder Ri.;k calico, about 3 p.m. on Sunday to see Spray, and she told him to go up to Spray’s room. He came down and said Sprav was out. —Constable Sneddon said Constable Hannafin and he interviewed accused in his room in the Gladstone Hotel that evening. He said ho had not been out that day. Witness found the wallet in the pocket of his coat. Risk said he could not understand how ’.he wallet got there. Risk was not drunk, but he certainly had had one or two drinks.— Air Irwin said his client had been in a trance for two or three weeks. He haa recently had a cheque for £62, so he was in no need of money. He must have gone up to the room and taken the wallet, but he did not remember anything about it. It seemed probable that he had no intention of stealing the wallet.. —The accused, giving evidence on his own beliall. said he was a letumed soldier who bad been attending hospital most of the time since he returned, iio had been for weeks without drinking and at other times lie took too much. Or. Wednesday he received a cheque for £62 from Alessrs Stewart and Payne, solicitors for a mist estate. He thought he could account for it all. lie met Spray months ago, and met him again last Saturday. Witness and He drank together. They called each other “Tom’’ and “Bob.” ' They went for a walk together on Sunday 'morning. Witness wont twice to Spray’s room, but he was not about. He took the wallet from Spray's room about 3 o’clock and put it in his pocket. He went to bed very early. He thought, he did not have any tea. he was not exactly sober when he wont to bed. Ho had no intention of stealing the wallet. He was simply playing a joke on the man to teach him a lesson not to leave things Iving about—Chief-detective Bishop: Why did you not tell the acting-detectives this story ? —Witness • I did not know what they were about Witness added he was a jeweller by trade, but he did not know there was a ling in the wallet.—To ;!.e

Magistrate: He thought it was an empty wallet. He did not stay a minute in the room. —Mr Irwin called Charles J. Payne, solid! or, who said he acted for Risk’s mother’s estate, and had know Risk’s family all his life. After he went to the front he started to drink Witness was surprised that it was suggested that he had stolen something. Every time Witness had seen him lately he had been the worse of liquor. He was a good natured fellow and was being taken down and imposed upon.—Thomas Long, jeweller, said the accused served his apprenticeship under him. He had an exceptionally good character. Since coqiing back from the war he had been constantly under the influence of liquor.—Mr Bundle, summing up. said the evidence was quite clear and the facts were admitted. The only question was as ic whether Risk intended to steal the wallet or whether he took it, as he said, “for a joke.” He must take into consideration the accused’s state of mind, though his memory seemed to be a remarkably good one on certain particulars. Spray was quite definite that he met Risk first on Saturday, March 18. »Was this a joke a man would perpetrate on one he met only the previous dav? There was just a certain element of doubt about the matter, and taking into consideration accxmd’s condition at the and the good character lie borne he did not think he would be justified in convicting. He would dismiss the information on certain conditions, one of them being that a prohibition order be taken out against th* accused.