TROTTING SWINDLE,

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume L, Issue 16425, 8 May 1924, Page 8

TROTTING SWINDLE,

THE DINCO CASES

BOTH ACCUSED FOUND GLII/n

(Per Press Association.) DUXEDIX. lust night. Tiie Supreme Court was filled with a large crowd of auditors again to-day to hear the continuation of the alleged "ringing in" at the (Jure Hutting meeting in October of lasi year of The Dingo for the trotter Kingsdale. The accused, John Richards and Walter Leonard James Cameron, are indicted on foui counts of conspiring to defraud the (hue Lacing Clan, William James, and the public. The lour counts brought againsl I lie accused were (1) thai on or about lie tober 1, 1923. at Dunedin, they did conspire one with the other by fraudulent.means to defraud the public, and. in particular, William Francis James and the Gore Racing Club; (2) that on the same date they did conspire one with the other to commit a crime punishable by imprisonment with hard labor for three years, namely, the crime of obtaining money from the Core Lacing Club with intend to defraud 1 by a false pretence by representing the trotting horse The Dingo to be the trotting horse named Kingsdale: (3) that on or about October 23, 1923. at Core with intent to defraud they did attempt to obtain from the Gore Racing Club the sain of £95 by means of certain false, pretences by representing The Dingo to be Kingsdale; (4) thai on the same dale at (lore, with intent to defraud, they did obtain from William Francis James the sum of £IOB7 10s by means of a certain false pretence by representing The Dingo to b© Kingsdale.

After the remaining witness who had given evidence In the Lower Court had been examined, Mr. Adams (the Crown Prosecutor) intimated that he had a fresh witness—one who had not given evidence in the Cower Court.

Mr. Hanlon said the defence had no notice of what the, L'esh evidence was lo be.

Mr. Adams said the witness arrived from Cbristchurch last night. lie bad notified Mr. Hanlon five minutes after lie knew witness was available. His Honor permitted' the witness to be called. Oswald Edmonds Hooper, a neighbor of the McNeill's, said that he knew The Dingo. He had seen it driven about the roads since it was young, and half-a-dozen times he had ridden and driven it himself. This morning he examined a horse in Hie police yard, and 'to the best of bis belief it was The. Dingo. To Mr. .Sinclair: Witness said die had come to Dunedin because he had brought some horses clown for the meeting tomorrow. When he was here in July, he went to ({rant's stables and recognised the horse in the box as The Dingo.

This closed the case for the Crown. For the defence, both Mr. Hanlon mid Mr. Sinclair intimated that they would call no evidence.

Alter the adjournment for lunch, the horse in the police, yard was taken into Stuart si reel and ridden in hopples by Arthur Buttcrfield for the benefit of the jury. The demonstration attracted a large crowd. Mr. Hanlon, addressing the pry, stressed the point that Richards bad acted in a very straight forward manner, and pointed out that it was unlikely he would be engaged in a conspiracy when he wtent to see James on the totalizator opening and got a betting book from him and gave him a blank cheque, and afterwards was paid the winnings by cheque. 'that was not the action of a man conspiring to defraud. The point most stronglv emphasised- by counsel was that the horse shown to the jury stood 15 hands 3 inches high, while the measurement 'of The Dingo taken by .McNeill, the horse's former owner, was 16 hands 2J> inches. . The Judge, in summing up. pointed nut that Hie measurement of The Dingo was made bv an amateur, and thai it might not have been quite accurate. The jury, after a retirement of Halt mi hour, 'returned with a verdict o guilty against both accused on Hie lirst and second counts, and added a recommendation to the New Zealand 1 rotting Association to exercise greater care in accepting nominations. The Judge complimented the police on the manner in which they had collected the evidence. Sentence was deferred.