POLICE COURT

Southland Times, Issue 22766, 17 December 1935, Page 5

POLICE COURT

YESTERDAY’S SITTING MOTORISTS CHARGED A sitting of the Police Court was held yesterday, Mr W. H. Freeman, S.M., being on the Bench. James Henry Hammond, a labourer aged 30, of Dunedin (Mr T. V. Mahoney), pleaded not guilty to a charge of having been found intoxicated while in charge of a car in Esk street on Saturday evening. ' Constable Woodsford gave evidence that at 5.15 p.m. last Saturday he noticed the defendant drive ’ along Dee street in his car. Three boys were on bicycles slightly ahead of him and a dog ran across the road between the cycles and the car. It was clear of the car when the accused swerved to the left and deliberately tried to run it down. In doing so he nearly ran into one of the cyclists. He was unsteady on his feet and smelt of liquor. He said he had had a few beers. When told he would be arrested, he asked for a chance that time. After he was placed in the car he jumped out again and took the ignition key which he refused to hand over. He became insolent and argumentative. Constables Christiansen and Mathieson arrived and the accused was taken to the police station. The accused was not in a fit condition to be in charge of a car. To Mr Mahoney: Witness was satisfied by the man's appearance that he was not fit to drive a car, also his swerving across the road was not the action of a sober man. It was the action of the accused in trying to run down the dog that first attracted witness’s attention. There was no necessity for him to swerve at all as the road was clear at the time. Witness was not at the station when the key of the car was given to the accused’s companion. The latter appeared to have had drink. The accused walked to the station all right and was not in a condition to have been arrested for drunkenness. Corroborative evidence was given by Constables Christiansen and Dowling as to the accused’s condition when arrested. Clarence George Beer, a sharebroker, said he was conversing with Constable Woodsford when the accused definitely swerved in an endeavour to catch the dog. He went very close to one of the boys’ on a bicycle. It was a stupid act. Sergeant Abel said that in his opinion the accused, whom he saw in the watchhouse, was not in a fit condition to drive the car. To Mr Mahoney: The man appeared to have had more than one glass of liquor. Dr. David Pottinger, who examined the accused at the police station about an hour after his arrest, said that at the commencement the accused slurred his speech, but it improved later. He smelt of liquor, but all his tests were satisfactory. Witness concluded that at that time the accused was fit to drive a car. Mr Mahoney asked that the charge should be dismissed. The medical witness had stated that when the accused was examined he was fit to drive a car. His action in swerving after the dog was really a silly act. His Worship: Is that not the test ? He had not tried to brace himself up then. Mr Mahoney: He swerved, he says, in an endeavour to avoid the cyclist. The doctor’s evidence, I submit, is conclusive. His Worship: I would like to have some evidence as to the number of drinks the accused had. William Arthur Pitts, a salesman, of Dunedin, and a companion of the accused on the day in question, said that the accused had had only three glasses of beer. The defendant, m evidence, said that he had had only three long beers. He swung out to the left to avoid the dog. There was no danger of his colliding with the cyclists. He had had a license for several years and no conviction had been recorded against it. The car was necessary for his business. His Worship said that the evidence of the constables was to the effect that the accused was not very much under the influence of liquor. It was the swerving of the car that drew the constable’s attention to the accused. The case was a border-line one and the accused was entitled to the doubt the Court had in its mind. The case would be dismissed.

License Suspended. The suspension of his license for three months, a fine of £lO and the payment of witness’s expenses £1 1/and medical fee 12/6 was the punishment imposed upon Herbert J. Strang, a carpenter aged 23, when he pleaded guilty to a Charge of having been found intoxicated while in charge of a car in Dee street on Saturday night. Sergeant Abel, who prosecuted, said that on Saturday night Inspector Stopford observed the accused driving his car along the North Road on the wrong side and in an erratic manner. The inspector followed, blowing his siren for some blocks before the accused stopped. He crossed intersections at 37 miles an hour. The offence was becoming very common in Invercargill. The accused said his speed at intersections was about 30 miles an hour. The Magistrate inflicted the punishment as mentioned. Licensing Breach. A plea of guilty was entered by William Arthur Pitts (Mr T. V. Mahoney) to a charge of ordering liquor without giving his full name and address and disclosing that the liquor was intended for the no-license district of Invercargill. Sergeant Abel said that the defendant had obtained six bottles of beer from the publican at Wallacetown and taken the liquor to Invercargill. His Worship: I suppose it is done every five minutes of the day here? The sergeant: Oh, I would not say Mr Mahoney said that the defendant, who came from Dunedin, had never previously been in a no-license district. He made the purchase in good faith and failed to see the notices in the hotel. The breach was really a technical one. His Worship (to defendant): Well, you now know that if you come south you must notify the hotelkeeper; if you are going west you need not do so. You will be convicted and fined 10/-.