SUPREME COURT..

Otago Witness, Issue 3885, 28 August 1928, Page 27

SUPREME COURT..

HABITUAL CRIMINALS. AUCKLAND, August 20. In the Supreme Court, John Leslie Buckley was sentenced by Mr Justice Reed to three years’ imprisonment on a charge of breaking and entering and theft at Taumarunui, concurrent with his present sentence. Buckley is now serving accumulative sentences* of seven years. James Davis, alias John Gibli Hastings, was declared an habitual criminal and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for breaking and entering and theft at Te Awamutu and Auckland. THE GISBORNE SESSIONS. GISBORNE, August 21. The Supreme Court sittings opened to? day, before Mr Justice MacGregor, ’ with an unusually small calendar. Three young Natives—Charlie Ward, George Taiapa, and Henare Temaro—for burglary at Tikitiki, came up for sentence. Taiapa, the ringleader, was sent to the Borstal Institute for four years, and Ward and Temaro were also sent there for three years. PRISONERS SENTENCED. CHRISTCHURCH, August 20. The criminal sessions of the Supreme Court, Christchurch, opened to-day before Mr Justice Adams. The cases include one charge of bigamy, two of forgery, one of causing death through negligently driving a motor cycle, one of attempting to break into a counting house with intent to commit a crime, 15 of carnal knowledge, and one of indecent assault on a male. James Neil pleaded guilty to two charges of forgery of cheques totalling £lO6 in all, and was remanded for sentence till Friday. William Ernest Cook, charged with attempting to enter an engineering shop in Armagh street with intent to commit a crime was found not guilty. August 24. In the Supreme Court the following prisoners were sentenced:—George Creasey, aged 56, for bigamy and false statement, nine months in gaol. It was stated that prior to committing bigamy Creasey had bee,n imprisoned six times for failure to maintain his wife at Invercargill. Roland Harold Cole, aged 32, for indecent assault on a male, was sentenced to three months in gaol; James Neil, for forgery, received two years’ probation; and Edward Tarlington Horne, for breaking and entering and theft, two years’ reformative detention. FATAL MOTOR ACCIDENT. CHRISTCHURCH, August 22. Trevor Walter Moss was charged in the Supreme Court before Mr Justice Adams with negligently driving a motor cycle on Woodham road, and thereby causing the death of Margaret O’Connor. The facts were that a firm of sewerage contractors were making a sewer connection in Woodham road. The work was not finished, and there was a quantity of spoil lying on cither side of the trench. The accused came along the road, ran " into the spoil, and jumped 20ft across the trench. The girl was thrown off the carrier, and some time after died in the hospital. The accused had no light, but had a torch strapped on the handlebars. The jury returned a verdict of not guilty.

CHARGE OF ARSON. MASTERTON, August 21. At the Supreme Court, before Mr Justice MacGregor, a man named George Campbell was charged with arson in connection with the destruction of the Roseland Hotel stables at Makaraka on May 29, the building and contents being totally destroyed, as well as nine valuable sheen dogs. After a retirement of four hours the jury disagreed, and a new trial was ordered. INVERCARGILL SITTINGS. INVERCARGILL, August 21. The criminal sittings of the Supremo Court were opened before Mr Justice Ostler, who said he could not congratulate the district on the absence of crime, for, though there was only one case for the grand jury, there were six prisoners for sentence. He commented favourably on the absence of sexual cases. *- Benjamin John Marrah, breaking- and entering, was admitted to two years’ probation ; James Brown Doake and Francis Augustus. Stempa, three charges of breaking and entering and theft, were also given two years’ probation, and ordered to make restitution of £6O ; Ralph Swan, a postal official, for stealing 28s from letters, was admitted to two years’ probation ; for serious breaches of probation Albert Sharp was ordered to be detained for a period not exceeding four years for reformative treatment; Theodore Archibald Hansen, railway clerk at Queenstown, for the theft of £44, was granted probation for two years, conditional on his making restitution and taking out a prohibition order; Neale Keith Culter, for thefts at Palmerston North, was ordered to be detained for three years’ reformative purposes, to b© served concurrently with the sentence he is now serving.