“CRAZY WITH DRINK”

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23516, 2 June 1938, Page 7

“CRAZY WITH DRINK”

CAREER OF WILFUL DAMAGE FIVE CARS WRECKED YOUNG MEN SENT TO GAOL (Special to Daily Times) WELLINGTON, June 1. Recent acts of hooliganism in the city, wilfully damaging motor cars and smashing windows at the Museum met with swift, sharp retribution when the culprits appeared before Mr J. H. Luxford, S.M.. in the Magistrate's Court to-day and were sent to gaol. The magistrate declared that adolescent crime was serious in New Zealand, particularly as regards the taking and damaging of motor vehicles. _ In the case before the court probation was out of the question. James Joseph Furlong, a storeman and packer, aged 22 years, and Lyall Reginald Thornton, a driver aged 21 years, were charged with wilfully damaging five motor cars to a total extent of £67, with wilfully damaging a fence to the extent of £7, and with wilfully breaking nine panes of glass in the windows of the Dominion Museum. In addition, Furlong was charged with wilfully breaking a pane of glass in a notice board the property of the Wellington Harbour Board, and Thornton with wilfully damaging two tiles, also the property of the Harbour Board. The magistrate declined to take into consideration the fact that the accused came from good families, and sentenced each of them to four months' imprisonment with hard labour on one charge of wilfully damaging a motor vehicle. Furlong was admitted to probation for a period of two years on one of the other charges, and on the remaining charges the accused were convicted and discharged. Sub-inspector D. A, McLean prosecuted. Mr T. P. Hanna appeared for Thornton and Mr R. Hardie Boys for Furlong. “At the outset,” said Sub-inspector McLean, “I would like to say that it is to their credit, notwithstanding the serious damage they have done, that, when they were caught, they were manly enough to give a true story, so far as we know, indicating how they committed these acts. The accused met on. the evening of May 24 and attended a skating rink and later a dance. They had a bottle of whisky and. with this bottle in their possession and drinking the contents, they went up to the Museum at Mount Cook and there they threw stones at the windows. They broke in all nine panes of glass. Then they went to Brougham street, where they saw standing in the street a number of motor cars which had been left there for the night. They began to release the brakes, and the cars ran down the incline until they came to a stop, sometimes against the fence, sometimes against the concrete wall, and sometimes against the guttering. They then went to other streets and let cars go, five cars in all being severely damaged. They then went to the Harbour Board sheds, where one of the accused put his fist through a notice board and also broke two tiles. In all, £77 12s 6d worth of damage was done in the night’s escapade.” concluded the sub-inspector. The matter had been put very fairly before the court by the sub-inspector, said Mr Hanna. Furlong had been continuously employed for 12 months past ,by a city firm, but early in May he fell in with Thornton and they had : been knocking , about together. It would seem that on the night in question they had consumed a great deal of beer before midnight but, later on, they had a bottle of whisky between them. One could only assume that they had become crazy with drink. Furlong had never before been in any sort of trouble. On May 27, said Mr Boyes, Thornton was admitted to three years’ probation on a charge of breaking and entering a golf pavilion. This was the only other offence with which he had ever been charged, and it was also caused by a drinking bout. He asked that Thornton be given a chance of working out his salvation under an order.