THEFT OF MEN’S CLOTHES

Taranaki Daily News, 20 October 1927, Page 7

THEFT OF MEN’S CLOTHES

GUILT ADMITTED BY HOUSTON,

NEW PLYMOUTH HOUSE ROBBED.

The theft of numerous articles of clothing from the home of J. H. Quilliam, a barrister and solicitor, of New Plymouth, resulted in the appearance in the New Plymouth Court yesterday of a young man mimed John Walter Houston, who had been remanded from the last sitting. He entered a plea of guilty, and was committed to the Supreme Court at Wellington for sentence. The original charge related to the theft of a dinner suit, a lounge suit, an overcoat, two pairs of trouser hangers and a suitcase, of a total value of 3158 18s. Yesterday there were added to the list a pair of silk pyjamas, a singlet, a nail file, a pair of nail clippers and a book. Janies Henry Quilliam, the owner of the clothes, said he was a widower living alone. He had employed a housekeeper about eight months ago. He knew that a man was visiting her at the house and gave his consent to this before he left on a visit to Auckland. On his return his attention was drawn to the fact that a suitcase was missing, 'but on his housekeeper explaining that she had borrowed it and lost it in the country, he made no search for it. He- later found that an overcoat, a dinner suit and a lounge suit were missing. Attached to the trousers of the suits were hangers of unique design. After some time he also discovered the loss of some clothing, including three pairs of silk sox, one pair of new evening shoes and some dress shirts. Sergeant Martin stated that accused, when interviewed, had denied al! knowledge of the missing garments, and had accompanied the sergeant to his rooms where his belongings were searched. The sergeant saw a trouser-hanger about which he questioned accused, and the sleeve of a singlet, Houston maintained his assertion of innocence. When- he was confronted with .Quilliam’s housekeeper and was told that she had stated she had given him the suitcase, lie denied it.

Detective Meiklejohn said that in an interview accused had admitted he had told Quilliain’s housekeeper not to make a statement against him. When he found that she had not signed a statement, accused told witness io charge him and fire away. However, later the same evening accused told, the detective lie would show where the clothes were and would make a statement admitting everything. On receipt of.further complaints from Quilliam, the detective interviewed the accused regarding the underwear and the sox, but accused said they were his own and not Quilliam’s.

In a statement produced by the detective, accused said that lie was a baker and had come from England about two years ago. He made the acquaintance of Quilliam’s housekeeper about six months ago. On August 17, the day after Quilliam left for Auckland, accused visited the house a id while the girl was' working he looked around. The sight of the clothes inspired him to take thdm to raise money. He put two suits and the overcoat under the bed and took them away in the suitcase the following day. Later he went io Palmerston North, where be pawned them on August 30. He tore up the- ticket. He worked in the Foxton district for a time and arrived back in New Plymouth on September 10. The detective stated that advice had been received from the Palmerston North police that the overcoat, which had not been recovered, had. been so,d for 25s and resold to an unknown per-