DESPERATE BURGLAR.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2476, 15 April 1909, Page 6

DESPERATE BURGLAR.

A NEW ZEALAND CRIMINAL.

REVOLVER DUEL IN STREET.

SYDNEY, April 2. An open window in the second story and a ladder in the garden were, the means by which John Frederick Crook, a young man of 23, from New Zealand, gained entry to the residence of Mr Russell Sinclair, Ladoro, Carabellastreet, North Sydney, shortly before 6 o'clock yesterday morning. Beforo sunrise yesterday morning there occurred at North Sydney a succession of assaults as desperate as ever ; happened in this State (says the Syd- ; ney “Morning Herald’’.) During the I course of it at least nine revolver shots I were fired; four of them at arm’s length lor less. By some extraordinary luck the only result- is a householder in bed with yf-vvo bullets in his groin, but in no imme- | diate danger • a constable with a badly battered head; and a man, with the skin • scraped by the constable’s bullet from | over his jugular vein, with charges | hanging over his head for two attempted murders. j Just before -o o’clock a housemaid in I Mr Russell Sinclair’s house, Ladore, | Carabella-street, North Sydney, awoke. I Her bedroom window was open. There | was a tree growing in the garden just i -outside it, its branches reaching close | up to the open window. ’She did not : know what woke her, but it was a sound of something falling softly—perhaps the (sort of sound that .someone would make jumping from those branches to the ground. THE NOISE OF A MATCH STRIKING There was nothing in the noise to frighten her. But site lay awake for a little. As she 'lay there she heard the town clock striking 5. She was dozing off again when she heard a match struck. Across the passage leading past her bedroom was the room of Mr Sinclair’s son, Eric. The match was struck in the boy’s room. A few seconds later another match was struck in the passage just outside her own door. The door was open. She called out, ~AVho’s there?” There was no answer. She slipped into the passage. There, towards the further end of it, moving along the passage, away from Iter, in the dim light, she made out the figure of a man. She started to follow him. Ho immediately ran down the stairs at tho end of the passage and disappeared. Miss Emblin went to Mr and Mrs Sinclair’s door, and called. Mr Sinclair leapt out of bod. She told him in a sentence, and together they hurried downstairs. “LET .ME GO, I’LL SHOOT.”

Tlio stairway ends at the’ kitchen door. They looked into the kitchen, and .saw nothing. They opened wide the door of it. A moment or two later, hiding behind , the door by which they had entered, they saw a man. The man had evidently known nothing of the plan of the house. He had run down the stairs into the dark of the kitchen, and not knowing where to turn, or where the outer cloor was, and hearing footsteps hurrying downstairs, had dodged, behind the door. With tho. girl standing beside him, Mr Sinclair grabbed the burglar. The man shouted, “Let pie go; I’ll shoot.” Mr Sinclair struggled with him. The man fired at once. He fired three times in quick succession. Hi.s revolver cannot have been more than a few inches from Mr Sinclair. One shot missed entirely. It is said that M r .Sinclair had forced the man’s wrist downward. The other shots entered Mr Sinclair’s body, one on each side of the groin, Mr Sinclair hung on to him sti!i. But "the man prized him off, threw him aside, The second door, which Mr Sinclair and Miss Emblin had opened in searching tho room, still stood open. The man -ran through it and away. There he was lost sight of. “GET THE MAN.” Miss Emblin had been in the kitchen with the two men during the tussle. Just after it ended Mrs Sinclair came down. Mr Sinclair t-o'd her . lie was shot. He managed to walk upstairs and they put him to bed. The police and doctor were at once rung up. Plainclothes Constable James Charles Gates immediately got his bicycle and rode down to the house. Seniorconstable Freeland and Constable M‘Donald followed on foot. What Mr Sinclair said when the police came was, “Get the man, get tho man.” Constable Gates immediately rode to the Milson’s Point wharf. While the constab’e waited there a boat-rime in from Lavender Bay. Nobody had seen Cro.ok from tho moment he bolted through the kitchen door, and it was not known what way he went. But in the nose of this-boat was a man without a hat. The constable did not think this man was like the man who had been described to him at the house. Only he noticed his clothes were dusty. Also the burglar, whoever ho was. had left a black hat behind him" at Ladore. Constable Gates was looking at him very closely, i The man -noticed this. Though the eon-, j stable was in plain clothes the man ap- j peared uneasy, and left the boat. He ! walked towards the railway station. Gates had-strong doubts whether tins was tho man he was looking' for; but he decided to find out who be was, so lie followed. The stranger turned from the railway, up the steps, and out to the tram line. Gates walked after him.

The man walked up the hill to Camp-hell-street, and turned the corner. Catos had noticed that all this time lie had his right hand in his trousers pocket. Gates, too, had a revolver in his trousers pocket. It struck him rxs the man turned the corner that, now he was out

-of sight, it was a good opportunity to change ft from his trousers pocket to his coat pocket. He did so. The man went -up Jeff rev-street. Gates followed.

DUEL AT POINT-BLANK RANGE. Just as they reached Fitzroy-street Gates caught him up. “Good morning,” .said Oates. “Are you living here?” “No,” (raid the man. “Where do you live?” “City North:” “What are you doing here ” “I’m going to see a girl. -She works at Kirribilli.” “What are yon doing with that hand in your pocket?” The answer came with a flash —hang— jat point-blank range. In the unaccountable way of revolvers the shot missed. The next .iifstatat thg constable fired. He. too, missed. The burglar turned and began to run. Gates ran "after him. As they ran up the street they kept up a runaway fight with their revolvers. Gates was not hit! But he himself managed to graze the burglar’s neck. The shot actually knocked off a piece of skin covering the

man’s jugular vein. GATES MAGNANIMOUS. There* followed an incident, which on the present showing can only be. under? .AfitaQjJL as. rebound if; g to the credit, not

j the whole force to which he belongs: I The burglar’s revolver had only six chambers. Ho had . fired three at Mr j Sinclair before; and now he had fired | three at the constable. He turned to 1 fire again as they ran. But the hammer clicked. The chamber was empty. Gates realised this the same instant. •‘‘His ammunition is gone,” he muttered to himself, as he ran. He himself had only fired three shots. The other chambers of his revolver were still charged. “But I don’t want to take his life,” he said. “It's me and him for it.” He put his revolver away in his pocket, and ran for the man unarmed. After tho desperate brutal fight that followed the revolver was still in the pocket. These chambers were still undischarged. Where Jeffrey-lane joins Lewingtonpbiec they closed. Then went down together, tho burglar underneath, Gates en top with his bands locked on the fugitive’s throat. Then the man did a thing that, would seldom be done by a novice. Instead of clutching at his throat to free it he held his revolver by the muzzle, and dealt Gates a terrific blow upon the head with the butt end of it. The constable felt the crash, and the blood came streaming over his eyes. Thirteen times, according ’to the constable, the revolver was brought down upon his forehead. He might probably then have drawn his own revolver if he bad bad his full senses. But apparently, in the dazed condition in which-; these blows left him, the only idea that j he properly realised was that he must | hold on to the man’s throat, and not let go at all hazards. v THE CALL FOR HELP. However, he says, that he began vaguely to realise that the strength to hold his prisoner was going from him, and ho would soon let go. He called “Help, Murder!” and the noise aroused the people in those parts. He saw windows going up in the houses all around. But it seemed an age beforo anyone came to help him. ■ In the meantime the burglar broke away at last. He ran iuto Jeffreylane". Gates chased him. The man tried to get into,a gate. Gates came up and closed with him again. Again he tore himself free and ran. Still Gates followed. The man bolted towards Pittstreet, scrambled in at the front gate of one of the houses there, ran down the stone stair front. Here at last Gates caught him again. They grappled. The. burglar was getting the better of it all the time, for the constable was badly hurt, covered with blood, and almost fainting. He could only hang on and call for help. EXTRAORDINARY SCENE. An extraordinary scene followed—in daylight and in public. Help seemed, perhaps naturally to the constable, a long time in coming, and, not very ample at that. At last, when a small number of civilians did approach, the burglar had so far got the better of Gates, who was in plain-clothes, that, though he could not push the constable away, he held him off with one hand and, with the empty revolver in the other, covered the crowd.. He would shoot the first man who interfered, he said.

He again struck at Gates with the. butt of the revolver. “Will you let me go?” he said. Gates did not answer, but still held on. One of the bystanders offered him some advice. “Get the hand with the revolver,” lie said. It was at this point that a young man, Reginald Price, dressed only in his shirt and trousers hurriedly thrown on, came running up. He ducked under tbe burglar’s arm. And with a third man to help them they handcuffed the burglar. The burglar afterwards said lie regretted he had not killed Gates. CONSTABLE GATES PROMOTED. A cart came up. Constable Gates was taken off in it to Dr Studdv’s. Twenty-one stitches were necessary before he was sent home to bed. His injuries are. serious, but not likely to lie fatal. The Inspector-General of Police piomMod him \ ester day morning from first-class constable to senior-constable. THE BURGLAR IDENTIFIED. The. burglar was taken by Seniorconstable Pollard and Constable Jackson. who arrived after the fight, to North Sydney Police Station. There ho war: charged with shooting at Air Russell Sinclair and Constable Gates with intent to murder. He was remanded for a week. He asked for bail. It was refused. The prisoner gave the name of John Frederick Crook. He is onlv 23 years frid, is strong and athletic-looking, ar.i was dressed well enough, in clothes ap J patently almost new. He did not talk j very freely about himself or his friends. :