CITY POLICE COURT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26413, 18 March 1947, Page 2

CITY POLICE COURT

ALTERCATION AT DANCE RE-HEARING OF CASE Arising from an incident at a dance at the Town Hall on September 21, 1946, William Thomas Kay-Smith (Mr C. H. Stevens), a lorry driver, of Otatara, Invercargill, pleaded not guilty in the City Police Court yesterday at the rehearing of a case before Mr J. D. Willis, S.M., in which he ws charged with assaulting James Patrick Hand, an attendant at the dance—Senior Sergeant H. J. Hogg said that the complainant was employed as a cloakroom attendant at the dance. He was engaged in patrolling the hall when he found that a man had liquor in a convenience. The complainant told the man he had no right to have it there, and the accused told the complainant to “ get out,” and struck him on both eyes. The police were called, and the accused was identified as the assailant.— The complainant and the police gave evidence in support of these allegations.— Counsel for the defence said that the Crown should have called at the first hearing a witness named Patton, who was present at the assault, and who, the police evidence showed, had denied ever having seen the defendant before he was confronted with him at a police interview.—The defendant, in evidence, denied having assaulted Hand. He said he had not seen the complainant until he was about to leave the dance.—David Patton said in evidence that he had met a man from Southland whom he did not know, but whom he showed the way to the dance. When the complainant Hand entered the convenience this man had struck him. Witness said that when the police asked him if the accused was the man who had struck the blows, he said that he was not.—The magistrate, in summing up, said that he was bound to accept the evidence of the police that the witness Patton had not seen the asault. Qu the rehearing he would therefore convict the defendant and fine him £5 and costs (£1). Mr Willis fixed the costs of appeal at £lO ss. Committed for Sentence Walter Edington Restal, a labourer, ■aged 30, of Pareora, was charged with the theft of clothing and household linen, valued at £76 4s Bd, from the dwelling of James Robert Aburn, at Green Island, on or about February 19. The accused, who pleaded guilty, was committed to the Supreme Court for sentence. He was represented by Mr J. S. D. More.- James Aburn described in evidence how he had found that the articles referred to in the charge had been stolen' from his home. Property valued at £47 15s 2d had since been recovered. —Constable K. G. Griffiths read a statement signed by the accused, which stated that he had been drinking at Green Island during the day, and could not get accommodation in the township at night. He found a house in darkness at 9 p.m., and decided to break into it. He left at 6.30 on the following morning, taking’with him a suit which he found there. In a further statement the accused admitted having taken household linen and other articles from the house, some of which he had sold for £9 15s. The ac6used said that the reason why he had broken into the house was because he had been drinking heavily for some time. Constable Jefferies said that the accused had been very frank about the matter, and had given every assistance in the endeavour to find the property which he had sold. Remands Granted Two married labourers, of Benhar, whose names. were ordered to be suppressed until the facts were gone into, were remanded until March 27 on charges of assaulting Philip Stanley Soper at The Crescent, near Kaitangata, on March 15. Bail was' granted to each defendant in his own recognisance of £SO, with one surety of £so.—Mr C. J. L. White, who appeared for the defendants, said that there had been some dispute over an alleged debt. A further remand until March 27 was granted to two men, one of whom was a waterside worker and the other a woolclasser, who were charged with the theft of pork valued at £l, the property of the Holm Shipping Company, and with receiving the pork, respectively. The names of the defendants, whom Mr C. H. Stevens said would plead not guilty to the charges, were ordered to be suppressed. Bail was renewed at the same terms as before. Charge Dismissed Ralph Waterhouse Markham, a married man, employed by the City Corporation, residing at 62 Cutten street, South Dunedin, pleaded not guilty to a charge of the theft of a motor cycle headlamp, tools, and other cycle parts, valued at £36, the property of Ivan Earl Lloyd, on December 31, 1946.—After hearing lengthy evidence, the magistrate said that there was a conflict in the statements made regarding the identifxcaion of the motor cycle lamp, and he could not fairly say that all reasonable doubt had been cleared from his mind regarding its ownership. He dismissed the charge on the evidence produced, * Bitten By Dog Effie Lesley Rose Rogers (Mr D. L. Wood), a school teacher, pleaded guilty to owning a dog which had attacked a person, and was convicted and fined £2 and costs (10s).—Senior Sergeant Hogg said that the dog, a Scotch terrier, had bitten a nurse from the Public Hospital when she was running past a house in Pacific street.—Mr Wood said that the defendant had offered to pay all the expenses of the complainant in connection with the Incident. The dog had now been removed to the country. Unlawfully on Racecourse Arthur Wong was convicted and fined £5 and costs (10s), and Te Rauhikihiki Karetai, aged 20, was convicted, with Court costs (10s), on charges of being unlawfully on a racecourse on March 1 while a race meeting was in progress. Both pleaded guilty by letter. Unlawfully on Premises Andrew Gilbert Johnson, Ettrick Arthur Johnston, Edward James Smith, and Lawrence Joseph Smith (Mr A. G. Neill), all of whom pleaded guilty to being unlawfully on licensed premises, were each convicted and fined £2 and costs (10s).—Senior-sergeant Hogg said that the police had seen the men leaving licensed premises at South Dunedin, and they had admitted the offence.