Interstate Men Charged

While trawling through the dear old Adelaide Advertiser’s Law Court section for the weeks following the Somerton Man’s death (where cases from Adelaide Juvenile court were occasionally reported), I found the following story about interstate car crime, which I wanted to keep a copy of on the blog.

Interstate Men Charged

Two interstate men — Aubrey Whittle, 26, mechanic, of no fixed abode; and Leo Walsh Meyers, 22, interstate transport driver, of Southy street, Elwood, Victoria — were charged on two counts involving a sedan motor car which had been stolen from Melbourne. A third interstate man — Maurice Gleeson, 22, seaman, of Bay street, Port Melbourne — who had allegedly been in company with Whittle lately, was charged with having had insufficient lawful means of support.

Whittle pleaded guilty to having unlawfully had a motor car in his possession on November 18 without the consent of the owner, Milton Trisler, of St. Kilda, Victoria; and on the same occasion illegally used the car without the consent of the owner.

He was imprisoned for six months on each charge, to be served concurrently. He had admitted 12 previous convictions. Meyers, who had pleaded not guilty to two similar charges, was acquitted, and discharged.

AFP Hender, who prosecuted, said that Trisler’s car had been stolen from his home at St. Kilda. Several days later, it was alleged, Whittle and Meyers had taken the car to a garage at the rear of the Centralia Hotel, North terrace, Adelaide, and asked the proprietor to reduce the car. Before this could be done, defendants collected the car, took it out to a secondhand dealer at Payneham and sold it for £600, receiving £150 in cash and a cheque for £450. Defendants had stayed at the Grosvenor Hotel, North terrace, and after they had left, a maid had found two car number plates from the stolen car wrapped in newspaper in a drawer in the room.

HAD LOADED PISTOL

Meyers was also charged with having unlawfully had a pistol in his possession on November 18, which was reasonably suspected of having been stolen; and on the same occasion had an unlicensed pistol in his possession. He pleaded not guilty to the unlawful possession charge and it was dismissed.

He pleaded guilty to the second charge and was fined £25, with 7/6 costs, and the pistol was confiscated. He admitted three previous convictions, including one for a similar offence.

PCC Bartlett, in evidence, said that he questioned defendant outside the Centralia Hotel on November 18 concerning a stolen car. He searched defendant and found a loaded pistol in his pocket. When asked whether he had a licence, defendant broke away and was not recaptured until there had bern a long chase through the yards of the Adelaide Railway Station.

Gleeson pleaded not guilty to having had insufficient lawful means of support on November 18, but was found guilty and imprisoned for two months. Admitting that he gave a false name and address to Detective Harper on the same occasion. Gleeson was imprisoned for 14 days. He admitted eight previous convictions. Detective Harper, in evidence, said that he questioned Gleeson outside the Centralia Hotel and asked him whether he knew Whittle. Gleeson replied that he had been “knocking about with him” for some days. He had deserted from the vessel Dalby at Port Adelaide several weeks ago, but did not have a job.