ALLEGED HORSE STEALING.

Waipa Post, Volume XXIV, Issue 1426, 13 November 1923, Page 5

ALLEGED HORSE STEALING.

I THEEE MEN COMMITTED FOE TBIAL. STOCK TAKEN PROM AKA AKA TO OTOROHANGA. Messrs R. P. Webster and A. C. Tonkin, justices of the peace, presided at ! the special sitting of the Pukekohe Magistrate's Court on Thursday, when three men were charged with the theft of stock. ■ i . Clyde Powell Ludwig, Walter Barraclough, and Percy McGilvray were charged that they did, on 26th September, 1923, steal 15 horses of the value of £195, the property of Elmslie : Grimmond and others. j Senior-Detective Hammond prose- ! cuted on behalf of the police, and Mr H. R. G. Mason appeared for Ludwig, Mr Hosking for Barraclough, and Mr J. J. Sullivan for McGilvray. j Detective Hammond stated that the j three accused were charged conjointly i with stealing 15 horees from the Waij uku district. It was alleged that the , horses were driven up to Jericho, and on to Otorohanga, where they were ! secured by the police. i Finding the Horses. ! After quite a number of settlers in the Aka A'ka, Otaua, and Waiuku dis- ' tricts had given evidence of identifica- : tion, Constable Doyle, of Te AwamuI tu, deposed that he was in company of Constable Rushton in search of a ' mob of horees, alleged to have been ! stolen from Pukekohe. They met the accused Ludwig on the road riding a ! chestnut horse. Witness did not know j Ludwig then, or that Ludwig was susI pected of the theft of ihorses at Puke- | kohe. Witness spoke to Ludwig, and ' asked if he was living in that district. Ludwig said yee. Witness 1 asked where he lived, and the reply was, "On a farm just up the road." He asked Ludwig if he had seen anything of a mob of horses said to have gone through since the last Tuesday. Ludwig said no at first, but he then hesitated and said he thought he saw a mob going through on the Wednesday. Witness asked where he saw them, and Ludwig said they were going towards Otewa, in the opposite direction to where Ludwig then resided. Witness made inquiries, and arrived at Ludwig's about 5 p.m. Accused was absent, but he noticed that there were a number of horses in a paddock adjoining Ludwig's house, and amongst them was a dark bay mare. The mare ihad been identified by a witness named Hull as his property. There were recent marks of horses' hoofs going through a gateway into some high tea-tree country at the back of the farm.* The marks indicated that a number of horses had recently gone into the tea-tree;. Witness proceeded to question Kerr.gan, and as a result he accompanied Kerrigan into the scrub at the back of the house, where they found 15 horses, amongst them being a white mare identified by a witness named Sands as his property. He counted the horees and found there were 15, but one was claimed by Mr Henderson, of Otorohanga, who was a partner in Ludwig's farm. At daylight next morning witness had the horses removed to Te Awamutu, where they were subsequently identified by Grimmond and Kitchen. The same horses were at the back of the court house that day. They could not find Ludwig after speaking to him on the road. Witness laid an information againet Ludwig that day. He found Ludwig at daylight the following Sunday morning in bed in his house. Witness told Ludwig that he had a warrant for his arrest. Ludwig said he had expected it, and was thinking of giving himself up. Ludwig was brought before the court and charged with the theft of a horse. Accused said, "Only one? What about the others?" Witness replnied, "You will hear about the others later on." Witnese was satisfied that the horees iii the courthouse paddock were the same horses he had found at Ludwig's farm. "Til Die Fighting."

Detective Hammond, senior detective, of Auckland, stated that on 19th October he saw Barraclough at the police station at Auckland. He was then charged with the theft of one horse only. Witness told accused he was to be charged with the theft of 10 horses. He asked accused if he knew McGilvray had made a statement implicating him. Witness showed him the Statement. On 3rd October witness saw Ludwig, McGilvray, and Barraclough, and explained that there was one charge against the three of them conjointly. Ludwig said that the boy (McGilvray) had had nothing to do with it. "If he did, I'll die fighting," he said. - t Committed for Trial. Mr Hosking contended that no case had been made out against. Barraclough. The justices must take the responsibility of dismissing a caste when there was not sufficient evidence for a jury to convict. Detective Hammond referred to the statement of McGilvray, and which was not denied by Barraclough. He insisted that a prima facie case had been made out against the three accused. The bench decided to commit the three accused tothe Supreme Court for trial.

Mr Sullivan asked the bench to reduce the bail for McGilvray. The sum of £SOO was too high. Detective Hammond said that the accused would not appear before the Supreme Court until February, 1924. He was willing to agree to £3OO in cash. ..' Mr Hosking asked the bench to reduce the bail for Barraclough, but the police objected, and the bench sustained the present figure, which is £SOO.

Cattle Stealing. The man Ludwig was alsq charged that he did, on or about 14th September, 1922, at Aka Aka, steal three heifers and one cow, of the value of £24, the property of Thomas McNamara. The same accused was also charged that he did, on or about 14th September, 1922, at Aka Aka, steal five steers of the value of £27 10s, the property of Osmand Henry. Accused reserved his defence, and was committed for trial. • •