BREAKING AND ENTERING

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16373, 22 June 1927, Page 8

BREAKING AND ENTERING

THE BURGLARY AT PETTIE'S Breaking, entering, and theft were the charges made against iTuigh Manley, alias Hugh Goodlet, in the Police Court this morning before Mr. K. C. Levvey, S.M, The accused was alleged to have broken into the premises of \Vm. I'ettie and Co., on Friday night and stolen clothing and articles to the value of £l2. Detective McLepd stated that the shop had been locked up on Friday night, and the following morning the panel in one door was found to have been broken. Thy articles mentioned were missing, and some of them wore recovered on the arrest of the accused. Douglas M.i Grade, in charge of the mercery department of Win. I'ettie and Co., stated that he closed the premises at about 5.55 p.m. on Friday. On his return the next morning he found that a glass panel had been broken out of one „of the front doors, and an examination showed that a suit of clothes, a pullover jersey, a pair "of suspenders, six writing pads, and about half-a-dozen shaving sticks were missing. Stephen Cairns identified the accused as a room mate, and stated that he came to the 'room at about 11.15 p.m. on Friday. He appeared to "have had a glass or two," and on coming into the room pulled out his swag and spread it out on one of the beds. He took something from under his coat, and put it into the • swag. The accused was also wearing a pull-over similar to the one produced, and this he took off and put under his pillow. He also had some tubes of shaving soap. Witness again saw the accused the following morning at about 7.45, but did not see him again after that. Until lie came to occupy the same room witness had not previously seen the accused and did not know his name. In evidence, Detective McLeod stated that on the morning of June, 18 he examined .the front door of Win. Pettie and Co.'s premises, and found that half the glass panel of one of the double doors had been broken out. As the result ot enquiries made on Sunday, he arrested the accused at 2.30 p.m. at Kopua, beyond Muriwai. He was wearing the stolen coat and the suspenders, and in his swag witness found the trousers and waistcoat of the stolen suit. The accused admitted that ho had stolen the articles from somewhere, but did not know where. The following morning the accused made a statement in which he said he was very much the worse for liquor on Friday evening. He did not know what he did on Friday night, and had no recollection of breaking into the idiop, but when he woke up the following morning he found that he had the stolen articles. He knew that something had happened, and left town as soon as possible. He was satisfied that he had broken into the shop, and would plead guilty to the charge. Tho accused pleaded guilty, and was committed to the next sitting of the Suprema Court at Wellington for sentence.