CAR CONVERSION

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19121, 16 September 1936, Page 15

CAR CONVERSION

A TRIP TO NAPIER ♦ NO CASE FOR PROBATION 6 WEEKS’ IMPRISONMENT A charge of converting a motor car valned at £345 to his own use was preferred against Charles James Snow, alias Charles James McGill, aged 20 years, in the Niroier Colic.a Court before Mr. J. Miller, S.M. Accused pleaded guilty. A charge of being an idle and disorderly person was withdrawn by the polce. The car, which was converted in Auckland several driys ago, was the property of a rental company.

Three young men, including accused, went to the rental car company on the night of August 29 and engaged a ear for eight .o’clock the following morning, said Detective-Sergeant H. Nutm. Subsequently one of them had a disagreement with the others and left them. Accused and his companion took the car out of tho garage and drove to Hamilton, then to Rotorua. From Rotorua they returned to Hamilton, where they picked np two girls and went joy riding round Hamilton until very late at night. They then returned to Auckland, which they reached in the early Itours of the following morning, i The next afternoon they left Auckland in the car and drove td Napier, Wibore accused was arrested just before midnight. The other young man got away.

Detective-Sergeant Nuttall said accused had been convicted in Auckland for being on licensed premises after hours and for being found drunk in a public place. He had no criminal offences against him. “He is described by the Auckland police as of the hoodlum type,” said the detective. Accused’s companion is known to the polico. Ho is definitely a criminal,’’ feaid Mr. C. W. Nash, who appeared for accused, in submitting that his client had been led by the other young man. He said accused paid for the -hire of the car but did not drive it all the time. He submitted that the Case was one for probation, conditional on accused compensating the owners of car company and taking out a prohibition order. < 4 This sort of offence is generally committed by the hoodlum class,” said the magistrate. 4 4 Probation may be extended in some cases, but they have to be exceptional. This is not the case of a young fellow who, on the *bur of the moment, drove round the block in a car and left it. This car was taken from Auckland and there is no saying what would have happened to it.” Sentence of six weeks' imprisonment was imposed.