Young Man Sent To Prison For Converting Timber Co.’s Truck

Wanganui Chronicle, 6 January 1949, Page 6

Young Man Sent To Prison For Converting Timber Co.’s Truck

Commenting that offences of converting motor vehicles were always dealt with as serious matters, Mr. J H. Salmon, S.M., in the Magistrate's Court, Wanganui, yesterday. sentenced a young man, Victor William Abbott, aged 20, to three months imprisonment. Accused pleaded guilty to a charge of converting a truck. Detective Sergeant J. K. Robertson salfi accused came from the Bulls district and had woked at the Sash and Door Company Ltd. in Wanganui for a short period. He lived at Putiki and when he committed the. offence was employed at the freezing works. On November 27, he was entertaining ; friends at Putiki and told them that , he could borrow a truck He went to the Sash and Door gar- | age where a number of trucks wore j kept. He removed a truck in 'vhich , the ignition key had been left, shifting other trucks and wrenching a padlock off a gate to get the vehicle out. He took the truck to Makinkin. ’ Wangaehu and Ratana and there was no doubt that a considerable amount of drinking was done, particularly at Ratana. . Accused was sober enough to drive the truck home, however, and left it outside the Sash and Door buildings There had been £3 worth of timber I on the truck. This had disappeared I but some had since been located. Ac- ] cused had been before the Court at I Marton and Bulls for similar offences. | Asked whether be had anything to say. Abbott said: “I have nothing to say except that it was a silly thing to | do. After 1 had taken the truck it was too late to take it back, so I carried on." The magistrate commented that Abbott had been convicted in 19-16 for unlawfully converting a bicycle and twice in 1947 for unlawfully converting a motor-car and a motor-cycle. The vehicle in this case may not have been damaged very much but the taking of it for his own use was a serious matter. Ho would not take into account the loss of the timber or the damage to the padloek ns these were subjects for separate charges .