Magistrate’s Court Gang Member Admits Picton... (Press, 11 January 1977)

Three members of the Hampshire Street Gang appeared in the Magistrate’s Court on 10 January 1977 due to charges arising from a disturbance in Picton during the Christmas holiday period. Terry Wayne Te Koeti was charged with using obscene language and assaulting a police constable, and he was remanded until 18 January. John David Shaw faced charges of disorderly behaviour and resisting a constable, also remanded to the same date. Meanwhile, Steven Edwin Herbert, 19, was convicted and fined $75 for obstructing a constable during the incident, where he interfered as police attempted to arrest gang members on 27 December. Sergeant A. R. Bleakley noted that Herbert disrupted the police's ability to call for backup and protested against police actions. Herbert denied grabbing the officer's radio microphone but was told by the magistrate, Mr H. J. Evans, that a fine was warranted. In a separate case, a navy Chief Petty Officer, whose name was withheld, was discharged without conviction after being charged with assaulting a taxi driver during a disagreement over fares. The officer had been drinking before the altercation which involved an attempt to remove the driver from the vehicle. His legal representative argued that the incident was not typical of “taxi-driver bashing,” and given the officer’s clean record and impending retirement, the charges could have been avoided with better judgement from the driver. Glenn Raymond Larson, 24, admitted involvement in 13 burglaries valued at over $7,000, including a Kawasaki 500 motorcycle worth $1,800. He was convicted and remanded to 18 January for sentencing and is required to pay compensation of $3,755. Larson had broken into various sites between October and November 1976, stealing numerous items including car parts and watches, and was apprehended by police at a hotel. Kevin Graham Archibold, a 28-year-old man described as a transvestite, was fined $25 for stealing $87 in cash. Archibold had met a complainant at a hotel and later, after spending the night together, the complainant found money missing from his wallet which had been hidden under a mattress. Archibold denied the theft, and circumstances around the incident were addressed in court. Additionally, 18-year-old Ross James Cook was sentenced after assaulting a traffic officer and damaging his patrol vehicle. Cook received a year's probation, was ordered to pay $97 in restitution, and complete 50 hours of community service. Rex William Richard Davey, 21, was remanded to 17 February on two charges of selling heroin to a police officer in early December and possessing cannabis for sale. Lastly, 17-year-old Brian John Wealleans, who had escaped from Addington Prison in November, was remanded to 18 January for sentencing on charges of escaping lawful custody and unlawful assembly, alongside other pending charges related to these actions.

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