THEFT OF JEWELLERY

Otago Witness, Issue 4042, 1 September 1931, Page 65

THEFT OF JEWELLERY

NEWTON SENTENCED THREE AND A-HALF YEARS’ IMPRISONMENT. William Newton, alias William Sullivan, alias- Burke, appeared in the Supreme Court on Saturday morning, before his Honor Air Justice Kennedy, for sentence on a charge of breaking and entering and theft by day. When Newton appeared before his Honor about a fortnight ago he asked that the case might be adjourned in order that he might give the police some assistance in recovering the property stolen from the premises of Dawson and Co., jewellers, which burglary formed the basis of the charge against him. The request was granted, and it was stated on Saturday that about £l5O worth of jewellery out of the £3OOO worth solen had been recovered. Newton stated that he was not in a position to employ counsel, and asked that his Honor should read a statement which he had written. After purusing the statement his Honor directed that it be handed back to Newton for him to read. Newton’s statement was as follows: — “ Alay it please your Honor to know that since my last appearaice at this court,” stated 'Newton. “I have endeavoured by the limited means at my disposal to execute the pledge as a token of sincerity and deep repentance to make an effort to recover some of the stolen property. I am pleased to say that, with certain extraordinary facilities from the police, my efforts have been somewhat successful so far, and I do sincerely hope and think that the results will be more favourable in the near future. The most difficult part of my task was to locate people whom I had not previously known, and it has been a great consolation to my peace of mind to know that I have not incriminated or involved any of those innocent people who had been in possession of stolen property, and who were visited by me in receiving such property, as I considered by causing good people to be inconvenienced into my troubles would have been a criminal act on my part and also unmanly. ‘ I would like to mention to your Honor that, in addition to the unique facilities affored me, I have been subjected to certain tests by the Dunedin police. That honour and unusual confidence which I have experienced for the first time through life at the hands of the police I have justified in every detail. After my hard experience of 40 years up, down, and around the woild, in every vicissitude and inconsistency that appertains to hard experience, T am compelled to think that the system as practised by the strong man of the Dunedin police is the one and only scientific method that has a tendency to expel the seed of crime and vice from the mind of the most consistent and hardened criminal. The degrad ing and brutalising methods that are prevalent throughout the world only serve to keep the unfortunate wrongdoer in the gutter of despair and revenge against society and police. One ounce of that humane and just treatment as practised here, in Dunedin, both to guilty and suspected persons, has an equivalent to a ton of beneficial pressure on the moral and mental powers of even the habitual criminal. Mentally he becomes content both with the law and the police, and has no tendency to brood on revenge. Morally he wonders if he is entitled to commit crime again. “The criminal code has been used against me. but it has been used by strict police methods, and in every detail has been honest and fair. Whatever my- guilt I depart from the champion crime exerminator with a feeling of satisfaction hat, after being knocked down verbally by the code, I was picked up by -he principle of everything that is attributed to humane treatment and fair play. Dunedin stands for fairness in distributing the law to the unfortunate, and helps them to think and act rightly.” Newton went on at length to give details of his career since he was convicted nearly- 21 years ago for a similar offence. He pointed out that he had been employed as an engineer in the navy, and since the war had been an engineer on Australian vessels. He was ai rested in New Zealand for vagrancy on the day of his departure for England, ana thought that it would have been better to have allowed him to go. as he considered he had done nothing wrong. He hoped that at some future date he would be given the opportunity to get a ship and sail away to England, and never to return to the good people of this country again. “ 1 would like to say that since my leparture from Dunedin there were other robberies committed, also certain acts of violence by my once confederate on his own confession. I particularly refer to the dastardly outrage that was perpetrated with violence on two elderly people named Rossiter. I am pleased to say that during those periods I was a sick man in Christchurch, where. I had Deen for months. The police have definite proof of that, and I do at least believe that they will credit me with not being implicated in other robberies here.

“ I realise now that I am getting old. and owing to my very serious chest complaint the terminal point of my life is not far distant. I have committed my last criminal act. At my worst I am periodically criminal only. Aly last criminal conviction dates back to 1910, and I ask y-our Honor to consider this in my favour. As a result of my crime I am no better off. I have been personally subjected to every ache in the mental calendar. Finally, your Honor, I am compelled to say that by- my past and present experience crime does not pay. It never did; it never will. I now submit in deference and sincere penitence for my crime to your Honor for sentence.” The Grown Prosecutor (Air F. B. Adams) handed his Honor a copy of the police report and suggested that one should also be handed to the prisoner, this being done. “ In a former case this man’s associate in crime, named .Wilson, was before the court on a series of charges including the present offence,” said Mr Adams. “ I think I ought to state that there is no reason to believe that this accused was in any w-ay associated with the

other crimes. I am assured by the police that so far as they know this prisoner has never taken part in any violent crime, and they have no reasonable ground to suspect him of any other crime about that time. Having said that, I think it is necessary to point out the very serious nature of the crime that was committed. These men gained entry on a Saturday afternoon to a jeweller’s shop in George street, by entering the cellar and breaking through the floor of the shop. . Then the other man, working in full view of the street with his coat off, proceeded to remove the trays from the window, the two men then getting away with the loot.

“ From the police report the previous offences for which the prisoner was convicted some 20 years ago were of the same nature. They were thefts from a jewellery shop on the West Coast, and on that occasion the prisoner received a substantial sentence, which ought to have been sufficient warning and deterrent to him from that kind of theft. The total amount of the jewellery- taken was of the value of £3OOO. Both prisoners have been dealt with, and neither has disputed that at all. The only recoveries made so far arc recoveries made through this prisoner since he was previously before the court, and they are of the value of £l5O as against £3OOO worth of jewellery that was taken. Of course, we have no means of knowing how much each prisoner received from the crime, but, assuming that the prisoner got one-half as his share, which is reasonable, then all he has recovered is no more than onetenth of what he stole. “ I would like to emphasise the severe nature of the loss to a small shopkeeper like Mr Wright, a loss which goes far to cripple him in his trade. As against that all that comes back is a mere baga telle, and we do not know what happened to the rest of the property. I ought also to say that the police feel that in the interval, since the accused was last before your Honor, he has done his best to make recovery. They think also that they may recover still more jewellery with the assistance he has given and is still giving. They believe that the man is, in fact, repentent, and may be relied upon to give what help he can in the future towards recoveries. Notwithstanding, the crime remains a very serious one, and must be dealt with by the court accordingly.” His Honor said that he had no doubt that in the breaking and entering and theft from the premises of Dawson and Co. the prisoner was deeply implicated with the person already sentenced. It was somewhat significant that on a previous occasion prisoner had broken and entered premises at Westport and Greymouth and stolen large quantities of jewellery from them. In passing sentence his Honor would take into account the fact that the prisoner had not, for a considerable time, appeared before the court on charges involving dishonesty, and also that the prisoner had rendered some assistance to the police towards the recovery of the plunder obtained from the premises in Dunedin. A very large proportion of what had been stolen had not been recovered. Should prisoner render hereafter further assistance and should, by reason of that assistance, further stolen property be recovered, no doubt the Prisons Board, when considering the case, as it would do at intervals, would take that circumstance into consideration. “ The sentence of the court,” said his Honor, “ is that you be imprisoned with hard labour for three years and six months.”