YOUTH CHARGED

Waihi Daily Telegraph, Volume XXXI, Issue 8839, 2 November 1942, Page 2

YOUTH CHARGED

BURGLARIES IN PAEROA GOODS TAKEN FROM SHOPS : ' ' FARMHAND BEFORE COURT’ The sequel to the recent burglaries in Paeroa was heard in the Paeroa Court on Friday when a farmhand of Waitoa, Harry Edmund Lord, appeared before Messrs H. ‘Hare and W. F. North, J’s.P., on three charges of breaking and entering and three of attempted break and entry. The charges were that on or about September 8, 1942, at (Paeroa, did break and enter the shops of Wallace Supplies and did steal therefrom 21 packets of Riverhead Gold tobacco and other goods, total value £7 Bs,"on or about September 8, 1942, at 'Paeroa, did break and enter the shop of Roy Esdale Wells and did steal therefrom stamps and money -to value of 4s; on or about September 8, 1942, at Paeroa, did attempt to break and enter the shop of Joseph IP. Gamble with intent to commit a crime therein; on or about September 8, 1942, at Paeroa, did attempt to break and enter the shop of John Turnbull with intent to eommit a crime therein; on or about September 15, 1942, at Paeroa, did break and enter the shop of William Ewart Tubman and did steal there'from one Donegal tweed sports coat and other goods of a total value

of £29 4s 6d; on or about September 15, 1942', at Paeroa, did attempt to break and enter the premises of Moore’s Service Station with intent to commit a crime therein. W. E. Tubman, formerly a men’s outfitter of Belmont road, Paeroa, stated that he closed his shop at 5 p.m. on September 15, making everything secure and then at 6.30 next morning, as the result of a phone call, he went to his shop and found the front door open.

Lock Gouged Out A Yale lock had been gouged out of the door by some instrument and the lock was laying nearby. The stock in the shop was disarranged. When a check-up was made he found that considerable stock was missing, identifying articles produced in court which included sports coat, seven pairs of trousers, eight shirts, one pair of overalls, one pair underpants, one pullover, one hold-all, one money belt, eight and a-half pairs of socks, eight ties, 10 handkerchiefs and one wristlet watch. The articles were valued at £29 4s 6d.

T. N. C. Hill, manager of Wallace Supplies Co., of Normanby road, Paeroa, stated that on Tuesday, September 8, he had left the shop at 7.20 p.m., locking it up securely for the night.-. When he arrived at the shop next morning at 8.10, he found the door not properly locked, the slide bar on the Yale lock having been pulled back. A key or similar instrument had been used to do this. The padlock also on the door was still in place.

On entering the shop he noticed stock had been disturbed and some of it was missing. He identified the articles produced in court as being part of the missing stock. This included 21 packets of Riverhead Gold tobacco, one bottle of sauce, one tin kettle, two packets Milkoaties, 1 full tin pears, four empty tins pears, ‘three full tins peaches, one empty tin of peaches, three medium-sized full tins of peaches, two medium-sized empty tins of peaches, two tins of baked beans, five tins of spaghetti, two tins of tomato juice, four tins of cream, six tins milk, three tins of fish, two packets candles, four packets jellies, 19 boxes matches, three and a-half packets razor blades, one tin grapefruit and five tins corned beef. These goods he valued at £7 Bs. Holes Bored in £>oor

E. W. Moore, proprietor of Moore’s Service Station, Belmont road, Paeroa, stated that on Tuesday, September 15 he left the station at 5.30' p.m., securing all the doors before he went home. When he arrived at the service station at 7.30 next morning he found that the front door had been tampered with, five holes having been bored around the Yale lock. No entry had been gained, however and nothing was missing. R. E. Wells, proprietor of Wells and Sons, butchers, of Belmont road, Paeroa, stated that on Tuesday, September 8, he had left his shop at 5 p.m., the premises being, securely locked up for the night. Next morning he arrived at work at 6.30 and' noticed that a hole had been' made in the wire of the fly-proof door at the front of the shop, the door being unfastened, the inside bolt having been drawn back.

In the office he found things had been disturbed and about 4s in stamps and cash were missing. The shop safe had also been tampered with and the facing on the door of the safe had been torn off. The handle of the safe was also broken. The safe had not been opened, however and the contents were intact. •

J. Turnbull, proprietor of Turnbull’s Shoe Store, of Belmont road, Paeroa, stated that on Tuesday, September 8, he had left his shop at 5.30 p.m., making all windows and doors secure before he went honre for the night. When he returned to the shop next morning at 7.30 he found that the handle of the front door of the shop had been wrenched off, leaving the lock loose but still effective. This handle included the Yale lock. No entry had been gained to the shop and nothing was missing.

Padlock Removed J. P. Gamble, owner and manager of J. P. Gamble, Ltd., drapers of Normanby road, Paeroa, stated that on Tuesday, September 8, he had locked the shop at 5 p.m., leaving it secure for the night. When he arrived at the shop at 6.45 next morning he noticed that the padlock had been removed from the front door and was lying near the door. This lock had been locked on the door when he left the

shop the previous night. The door was still secured by another lock and there was nothing missing from the shop. S. A. Audley, police constable'stationed at Morrinsville, stated that on October 20 he had with Constable Campagnola had occasion to interview accused and his young brother who is a juvenile over certain matters at their residence at Waitoa. In the course of the interview accused indicated that he was responsible with his younger brother for having broken and entered the following premises at Paeroa:—Wallace Supplies Co., grocers, on September 8, Wells and Sons, butchers, September 8, W. E. Tubman’s, men’s outfitter, on September 15. Accused also admitted having attempted to break and enter the following Paeroa premises for the purpose of stealing therein:—Turnbulls’ Shoe Store,, on September 8, J. P. Gamble Ltd., drapers, on September 8 and Moore’s Service Station on September 15.

Accused took witness to his room in which the goods produced were stored and stated that the Riverhead Gold tobacco and groceries were taken from Wallace Supplies Co., and that the Donegal tweed coat and other men’s apparel was taken from W. E. Tubman’s. 52 Keys In Possession Witness then arrested accused and charged him with the aforementioned offences. Accused had in his effects 52 keys of various sizes which he stated he had used for opening .locks on the shops he had interfered with. On October 21 accused volunteered to make a statement which witness warned him he need not do and that it might be used in evidence against him. Accused admitted the offences at Paeroa, having stolen a car at V. aitoa to get to Paeroa on the first occasion and taking his employer’s car without permission on the second occasion. He admitted that he had purchased a glass cutter and hack saw in Auckland for the purpose of breaking into places. Accused pleaded guilty to all charges and was committed to the Auckland Supreme Court for sentence. An order was made by the 'Bench for the return of the property to the rightful owners.