QSR1860/3/5/5

Depositions of William Charles Neville, police constable of Markyate Street and Thomas Keen, butcher of Caddington. In the case of George Waller accused of breaking and entering a shop and stealing 16 pounds of meat and 4 pounds of suet.

14 May 1860

From: 1860 To: 1860

PC William Charles Neville: in consequence of information received he had been watching the premises of Thomas Keen, a butcher at the Ship Inn in Caddington. On Sunday 13 May he had been there about 1.30am. Keen was with him in the fastening pen adjoining the butchers shop. He heard the shop open and saw George Waller in the shop with a lighted Lucifer. Waller inspected several joints of meat and lit 6 or 7 Lucifer’s. Waller lay a bag on the floor and put several piece of meat and some suet into it. He ran out of the fastening to the door and Keen followed. They met the prisoner in the doorway with the bag in his hand. He told the prisoner he had been waiting for him and the prisoner replied he had never been there before. He took the prisoner into custody and took him and the bag to Luton police station. When being taken he prisoner asked both he and Keen for forgiveness and not to be hard with him. Thomas Keen: a butcher residing at the Ship Inn, Caddington. He locked up his shop a little before midnight on 12 May after he had unpacked some meat and put it in the shop. The shop door was in halves and the bottom was bolted and the top locked with a padlock. He went and watched with the PC. About 1.30am he heard a noise. He saw through the cracks in the boards the prisoner strike a Lucifer match and look about the shop. Waller struck 6 or 7 matches and took some meat. He went with Neville and took the prisoner by the doorway. The prisoner said they had not been looking out for him as he had never been before. He asked for forgiveness. The butchers shop was down the yard and not connected to the dwelling house. The yard was enclosed. The meat and suet was worth 12 shillings. Statement of the accused: the shop door was not locked when he went to it. The lock hung on the door as if it was locked. The door was not locked at all.

item

Waller, George,
Neville, William Charles,
Keen, Thomas

CADDINGTON, Markyate Street, breaking & entering, meat, suet, butcher