SUPREME COURT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23108, 6 February 1937, Page 3

SUPREME COURT

PRISONERS SENTENCED CRIMINAL SITTINGS CONTINUED The criminal sittings of the Supreme Court were continued before his Honor Mr Justice Kennedy yesterday. Two prisoners were sentenced and the court then resumed hearing of the case in which John Coory is charged with attempted breaking and entering of a shop by night. REFORMATIVE DETENTION Cyril Reynolds was sentenced to one year's reformative detention for breaking and entering and theft at Invercargill. Mr J. G. Warrington, for the prisoner, said that Reynolds, who was a married man with two children dependent on him, had been unable to get work, and had returned to crime in sheer desperation. He was deserving of pity as well as blame. His Honor, passing sentence, said that a serious aspect of the prisoner s crime was that he had drawn a boy of 16 years into the commission of it. It was not his first offence either, he having been before the court in 1928 and again in 1934. CUMULATIVE SENTENCES Twelve months' reformative detention for obtaining money from a woman by false pretences and two months' imprisonment with hard labour, the sentences to be cumulative, were the penalties imposed on William George Thomas, who pleaded guilty on Monday and was remanded until yesterday for sentcncc The prisoner admitted having been sentenced to one year's imprisonment in 1927 for escaping from custody when he still had three months and a-half to serve. With respect to the charge of obtaining money by false pretences, the prisoner said special circumstances had compelled him to plead guilty after having reserved his defence. He admitted having been convicted and sentenced between 1923 and 1930 on charges of vagrancy, receiving stolen property and false pretences. His last sentence was one of three years' reformative detention at Christchurch on 36 charges of false pretences and two of attempted false pretences. Mr H. S. Adams (acting Crown Prosecutor) said that Thomas had handed a sum of £39 to the police to be returned to the woman he had defrauded. The amount obtained by him from her had been £139. Mr Adams also remarked that in addition to his New Zealand record Thomas had convictions in Australia, tooPassing sentence his Honor said the prisoner had a long record of dishonest but he was prepared to take into account the fact that there had not been any convictions recorded against him during the past seven years. He would, therefore, be sentenced to one year's reformative detention, the term to be cumulative on that imposed for escaping from custody. CHARGE AGAINST COORY Further evidence similar to that given in the Lower Court a little over a week ago was heard in the case against Coory. Mr H. S. Adams was acting Crown Prosecutor, and Mr J. G. Warrington defended the accused. Evidence, which concerned the movements of the accused on the night when the offence was committed, was given yesterday by seven more Crown witnesses, and Coory himself was in the witness box when the court adjourned at 5 p.m. until 10 a.m. to-day. It is proposed to call five more witnesses for the defence.