TWO YEARS’ GAOL FOR YOUNG MAN FOR CONVERTING CARS

Wanganui Chronicle, 29 January 1948, Page 2

TWO YEARS’ GAOL FOR YOUNG MAN FOR CONVERTING CARS

Commenting that accused was a menace so far as car conversion was concerned, Mr. J. H. Salmon, S.M., sentenced John Kami! MacGregor, aged 25 yeavs, unemployed, to 12 months’ imprisonment on each of two charges of unlawful conversion of cars when he pleaded guilty in the Magistrate’s Court yesterday to four charges of converting cars and five charges of theft. The magistrate ordered that the two terms should be cumulative. On the other conversion charges he was convicted and ordered to come up for sentence within 12 months if called upon. Constable C. Dudley gave evidence that accused had been arrested in | Taupo Quay in a car which he had i converted in Palmerston North. Accused had said that he was going to New Plymouth where he hoped to get a boat back to the United States of America. Sergeant W. Tumilty said that in 1946 accused had been sent to Borstal for two years for car conversion. Accused had been frank when arrested and had given the police every assistance in clearing up the cases. Accused was born in the U.S.A, and came to New Zealand when he was four years of age. He was trying to get back to the States. In a statement to the Bench accused said that he had been discharged from Borstal on Christmas Eve, a condition being that he left the country within six months. He had gone to Auckland where his wallet was stolen. He became very depressed as he had nowhere to sleep and had converted a car to enable him to get to Paeroa and from then on had “gone to the pack." Accused said that when he joined the R.N Z.A.F. his American papers had been taken from him as he had sworn allegiance to King George. Since his discharge he had experienced trouble in having his papers returned. He had been endeavouring without success to secure a boat passage back to the United States. The magistrate commented that accused’s record showed many charges of converting cars and theft. "Whatever bad luck you have had since you were discharged from Borstal does not justify this long list of car conversions and theft," said the magistrate. “You are a menace in regard to the conversion of cars.