STOLE FOR BREAD.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17346, 29 September 1924, Page 7

STOLE FOR BREAD.

YOUTH PLEADS GUILTY TO CYCLE THEFT. FURTHER THEFT OF £247 ALLEGED. That he stole in order to provide for bis wife and child was the excuse advanced on behalf of David "William Fisher, aged eighteen, who appeared m the Magistrate's Court to-day on a, charge of the theft of a bicycle valued at £lO 10s, the property of John Harris Patterson. Accused pleaded guilty. Chief-Detective Gibson said that ac cused had recently started as a conductor on the tramways. He stole a bicycle belonging to another conductor, and sold it to a dealer for £3 10s. He had cunningly made up a receipt as if lie had bought the bicycle from a local firm, and thus induced the dealer to give him £3 10s for the bicycle According to Fisher, he was only eighteen years of age. Ho had been married for eighteen months, and had one child aged two months. He said he had given his ago as twenty-one, but was only sixteen. He bad been in the countrv only a few years The Magistrate (Mr IT. Y. Widdowson): Where does he come from? The chief detective : England. Mr Batchelor said he realised there was very little to be said in favour of a bicvcle thief. He was a very young man. He bad lost £lO of the Tramway Board’s money out of bis bag and bis reason for stealing the bicycle was to make up for the loss of the money. At the end of the month the sum of £lO was deducted from his wages, and his wife and. child were starving for want of food; there was no money in the house, so Fisher took the bicycle and got £3 10s for it, handing the sum over to his wife. In view of the circumstances and accused’s age. counsel asked if the Magistrate could see fit to grant probation. The Magistrate ; I shall certainly not grant probation to-day. Fisher was remanded till Thursday morning to enable the probation officer to report. Fisher was also charged with having stolen at Trent bam in December. 1923. the sum of £217, the property of .Tames Tracy. On the application of the chief detective. accused was remanded till Wednesday, October 8. In reply to an application by Mr Batchelor, the Magistrate said that he would not grant bail at present, but the question could be mentioned again after the probation officer had reported on the first case.