CONVERSION OF CAR

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27504, 26 September 1950, Page 3

CONVERSION OF CAR

Youth Sent To Borstal. \ MAGISTRATE’S COURT CASES A charge of converting a motor car valued at £650 to his own use was admitted by Bruce lan Sutherland, aged 19, a labourer and bus driver, when he appeared before Mr J. D. Willis, S.M., in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday. In ordering him to be detained in a Borstal institution for 12 months, the magistrate warned the accused that if he appeared before him on a similar charge he would be given a term of imprisonment with hard labour. Chief Detective Hall said the car had been parked outside the owner’s place in Lynwood avenue, and it was later found to be missing. The owner went to the Central Police Station to report the matter and after leaving, saw the car being driven in the street. The owner’s wife tried to stop the car, and later the owner gave chase through the city. The accused, who admitted the offence, had not been long out of Borstal, where he /had been detained for converting a motor cycle. The probation officer commented that the accused found it difficult to go straight. Intoxicated Motorist Arrested at 11.50 p.m. on Saturday, and later declared by the police surgeon to be “ totally unfit ” to be In charge of a motor vehicle, Allan Mathieson White, aged 37, a male nurse, was sentenced to seven days’ imprisonment with hard labour. The accused, who was represented by Mr E. J. Anderson, pleaded guilty to having been intoxicated while in charge of a motor vehicle. Senior Sergeant Wootton said the accused was driving a station wagon, there being nine passengers. He was found by a police patrol car halfway between the Normanby tram terminus and the Brown House. Nothing was known against him previously. Mr Anderson said the accused had a good record as an attendant at the Seacliff Mental Hospital. The accused and other members of the staff had attended a football match in the city on Saturday and had later been at a social evening. When accosted by the police, the accused was waiting for one of the passengers to return. Counsel stressed that the wagon had not been involved in a collision and no objection had been raised by the passengers to the accused driving. The accused had been in custody from the time he was arrested until the previous night, and in consequence " had had a very nasty shock, and the accused is a very upset man.” The magistrate pointed out that the accused might easily have endangered the lives of the occupants of the vehicle. The magistrate also cancelled the accused’s driving licence, and he was prohibited from obtaining another for 12 months. Sent to Prison “ His word does not seem to be worth much. When the accused was before the court on Friday he made a solemn promise that he would not repeat his action, but he has done it again. He certainly needs a sharp lesson.” This statement was made by the probation officer, Mr E. F. Mosley, when Kenneth Ronaldo Lewis, aged 24, a seaman, was charged with attempted suicide. He was sentenced to 14 days’ imprisonment with hard labour. The senior sergeant said the accused had taken 40 pain-relieving tablets on Saturday. He had appeared before the court on Friday on a charge of attempted suicide, having been in hospital for some time as., a result of taking 103 tablets. “Apparently he is using these attempts to gain publicity. He has got a sense of melodrama,” Mr Wootton added. The magistrate: You are another one of these ship deserters? The accused: Yes. The magistrate said the accused had had his .chance, as he had been released on probation by Mr J. G. Warrington, S.M., on Friday. It would be in the accused’s own interest to send him to prison. “Made Nuisance of Himself” John Isbister Wilson admitted charges of using obscene language in Bedford street, St. Clair, and with failing to pay a tram fare. The senior sergeant said the accused had made a nuisance of himself to the motorman "of a tram at the St. Clair terminus on the night of August 16. He removed the motorman’s seat, and as a result of this action the car was delayed for five minutes. The accused boarded the next tram for the city, but left at Forbury Corner. He had not paid his fare. The accused was at present serving a sentence. The accused said he was drunk at the time. The magistrate: You do not seem to learn. You have been convicted of using obscene language before. The accused was sentenced to seven days’ imprisonment, the sentence to be served at the expiration of the one he is at present serving. Chimney Fire

For permitting a chimney to catch fire, Howard Blyth Howes was fined 20s, with costs (10s).