Kindness Abused: Prison for Man who Stole Clothing at Totnes: At Totnes yesterday the Mayor (Mr. J. N. Powney), in sentencing William Thomas Sculthorpe to two months’ hard labour for stealing articles of wearing apparel, valued at £4 15s, the property of William Henry Pinsent and Gerald Pinsent, at Totnes, stated that the Bench considered, after the kindness shown by Mr. Pinsent the accused behaved in a very shabby manner in stealing the property. According to the evidence, the articles, which were prepared to go to the laundry, were placed in a barn by Mr. W. H. Pinsent, of Riverside Bungalow, who was in the habit of taking it there on Tuesdays and fetching it the following Friday. Mr. Pinsent met the accused and another man in October, when the accused said he could not keep his job unless he got rooms, and as he could not get them, Mr. Pinsent allowed the accused to sleep in the barn. He was generally there when the laundry was delivered, and several times had brought it to the house. Accused, who said he did it on the spur of the moment, stated that he sold most of the articles to a woman in Taunton for 4s. There were two previous convictions against him, and the mayor asked if any inquiries had been made about the woman who bought the goods at such an absurd price from a man on the road. Sergt. Marshall replied that the woman bought the property and informed the police. The police at Taunton were satisfied that the purchaser bore an excellent character.
Transcribed in whole or part from scanned originals: Presented with or without modified text and punctuation. For absolute accuracy refer to the original newspapers. Source: The British Newspaper Archive.
Referenced
GRO0366 Devonport: Gerald Swain Pinsent: 1904 – 1993
GRO0897 Devonport: William Henry Pinsent: 1874 – 1949