CITY POLICE COURT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22904, 11 June 1936, Page 2

CITY POLICE COURT

Wednesday, June 10. (Before Mr J. R. Bartholomew, S.M.)

DRUNKENNESS,

Thomas Edward Thompson was charged with drunkenness. —On the application of Sergeant O’Shea, who said that the defendant had been drinking methylated spirits, ho was remanded for seven days for medical treatment. TWELVE MONTHS’ PROBATION, Gordon Percival Gcnn was charged with stealing a cheque to the value of £5, the property of the De Luxe Petrol Station.—Chief Detective Young said that the accused was a traveller employed by a Wellington firm. On May 27 he called at the complainant’s service station in Princes street and ordered six gallons of petrol for his ear, tendering a cheque for £5. The complainant was unable to cash the cheque, as he had only four 10s notes and some silver, so an arrangement was arrived at whereby the accused took the £2 and the complainant’s I 0 U for the balance. The complainant then .went to attend to another customer, and when lie returned he discovered that the accused had gone, taking with him not only the £2 in notes, but also the cheque. The accused was subseqently interviewed by Detective Taylor and admitted the theft. The amount stolen was actually £2 and the value of the petrol. The accused had been before the court for theft on two previous occasions, the last being in 1929. He was a married man and had obviously tried to go straight. —Mr J. G. Warrington said that this was a clumsy and stupid offeneg, as detection had been inevitable. The accused had endorsed the cheque in front of the complainant, who had also seen the name of the accused’s firm on the cheque. The accused was a married man with one young child, and as she had known nothing of his previous offences, his wife had been caused considerable distress. Unless the court saw fit to deal leniently with the accused there was a danger that the wife and child would be left without support.—The magistrate said that in view of the accused’s previous experiences he hardly deserved another chance, but what weighed most was the position of the wife and child, and also that the offence had apparently been the result of an impulse. The accused would be admitted to probation for a period of one year, on condition that ho made restitution of £2 lls Cd within one week.