BOY GUNMAN’S END.

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13161, 20 January 1936, Page 3

BOY GUNMAN’S END.

DEATH BEFORE GAOL SEQUEL TO SHOOTING OF POLICEMAN. (Reprinted from the Post). SYDNEY, January 8. The growth of a new and dangerous type of larrikinism in Sydney since the depression has been revealed by the exploits of an 18-year-old youth, known as the “boy gunman/ 5 who four days after shooting a police constable, shot himself dead with his last bullet, when trapped by detectives in the cellar of a house at Waterloo, a Sydney suburb. 'The callousness of the shooting of the constable aroused public indignation and started the on a relentless hunt for the young criminal, who they learnt the following day was James Alfred Penrose, a desperate young gang leader. The shooting arose from a trivial incident. A conductor remonstrated with six young men who were riding free on the running-board ' of a tram. They refused to leave, and the conductor called Constables Archinal and Blackman. near the Central , Railway Station. The youths leaped from the ti am and fled. Archinal and Blackman chased them along several streets, when one of them fell over. Archinal was about to arrest him when one of the other youths whipped out a revolver. In in flash, the man on the ground had regained his feet, and bolted. Two shots rang out, the bullets whizzing past Archinal. The armed man turned and fled, Archinal pluckily setting out after him. A taxi dashed past, and as he dodged from the policeman the gunman was struck. He staggered, quickly remaining his balance, and ran. CONSTABLE NOT KILLED. It was as the second shot was fired that Constable J. Terbutt and a. sergeant drove up in a car. “Look after the car,* Sergeant!' 7 Terbutt called out. He jumped out while the police car which he had been driving was still travelling at a. fast rate. Terbutt had almost overhauled the fleeing gunman, at whom he fired a shot. When he was within three feet of the fugitive, the latter turned, with his revolver levelled, and shot Terbutt through the forehead. Archinal, who had continued the chase, lost sight of the gunman, so ran to assist his wounded companion. The bullet fractured Terbutt’s skull in two places, and, it is believed, lodged in the brain. He was not expected to live, but two days later regained consciousness. His condition is improving, but doctors have not yet been able to X-ray him to locate the bullet. A large squad of detectives immediately began a search for the gunman Within twenty-four hours they knew his identity and all his movements prior to his disappearance after the shooting. They learnt that two hours before the shooting, he joined a poker school in a house at Redlern, close to the city, and when one of the company discovered him cheating, he was thrown out. In the struggle he drew his revolver and firecT, the bullet grazing one man. He also fired several shots in the street. Foir weeks previously he had terrorised the Redfern and Waterloo districts, leading a gang

of young hoodlums into many escapades. Those who suffered at his hands were too frightened to ask lor police protection. YOUNG GIRL S DUPLICITY. The detectives searched day and night far Penrose, paying particular attention to empty houses. His acquaintances were too scared to-, oiler him food or shelter, but in a 14-year-old girl he found his only friend. By double-crossing the police, whom she had offered her help, she was able to keep Penrose supplied with food and informed of police movements, so that he was able to shift from one hiding-place to another when danger threatened. Finally the ix>lice suspected the girl o; duplicity and she was shadowed. She gave them the slip several times, but ultimately they learnt where Penrose! was concealed. As they approached the house through teeming rain at 4 a.m., the back-yard gate opened and the girl stepped out cautiously. The detectives grabbed her, but her warning shout was too late. The police burst open the gate, and while the girl was borne away to a police car, Detecti ve-Serjgeant McCarthy, closely followed by Detective-Inspector Smith, rushed forward. They did not know that Penrose had only one cartridge left in his revolver. They did realise that he might try to shoot his way to freedom. THE LAST CARTRIDGE. McCarthy had no hesitation in going for his man. The bright ray of his torch picked out Penrose against the furthest wall. The youth’s hand swept to nis pocket, anckMcCarthy, knowing that the pocket contained a gun, fired. His bullet crashed into a box alongside Penrose, who, drawing his revolver, placed it to his temple, pulled the trigger, and fell back dead. The police found later that his weapon contained only one empty shell. As the shots echoed through the neighbourhood, the girl in the police car stifled a scream and almost collapsed. When the dead youth's clothes were searched, the detectives were surprised to find a note indicating that he had contemplated suicide. In it, he said that without a job he could only resort to thieving, and he hated the thought of gaol. “I would rather die,’ 7 ran the note. He went on to describe where he had hidden his clothing, worn on the night of the shooting of Constable Terbutt. in a vacant allotment. In view of his suicide, the detectives believe he had thought of taking his own life, the note probably having been written the previous day. However, it may have been a scheme to throw dust in the eyes of his pursuers if he had got away from the city. Penrose knew no home life since a child, his parents separating and leaving him to the care of relatives. He began a career of crime at the age of nine and had many convictions. He was a clever scholar, but except for a casual job in a glass works was never in employment, and spent all his time in the company of criminals.