Thomas Dean

135

C H on 25th February 2024

Old Bailey Online THOMAS DEAN. Theft; burglary. 30th October 1799. Text type Trial account Defendants THOMAS DEAN Offences Theft > Burglary Session Date 30th October 1799 Reference Number t17991030-15 Verdicts Guilty > Lesser offence Punishments Transportation 518. THOMAS DEAN was indicted for breaking and entering the dwelling-house of Thomas Ford , about the hour of seven in the night, of the 29th of September , with intent to steal, and burglariously stealing two linen shirts, value 5s. two calico shifts, value 5s. a pair of nankeen breeches, value 5s. two waistcoats, value 5s. and two towels, value 12d. the property of the said Thomas . The case was opened by Mr. Knapp. THOMAS FORD sworn. - Examined by Mr. Knapp. I am a solicitor in Brick-court, Middle Temple, in the county of Middlesex . I left London the middle of September last, I returned on Sunday, the 29th of September, I discovered that my chambers had been broke open, the outer door lock was hanging by the back screw; the front one having been either forced out or taken out, I then saw, in the bed-room, that a set of drawers, five in number, had every one of them been forced open, which drawers I left securely locked when I went out of town, and the property all secure in the drawers. My wife was in Somersetshire at that time. Q. Did you leave any body in care of the chambers, except your laundress? - A. No; her name is Ruth Hansford . RUTH HANSFORD sworn. - Examined by Mr. Knapp. I attended Mr. Ford as his laundress: On the 29th of September I left Mr. Ford's chambers, about half past six at night, as near as I can recollect. Q. Was it light or dark? - A. It was not very light, or it was not very dark; it was between both; the lamps were lighted in the passage; I secured the doors and windows of the chambers when I left them; the door locks three times; I am positive I locked it three times that night. Q. Are the chambers upon the ground floor? - A. Yes; when I returned it wanted a quarter to seven by St. Dunstan's dial, I live just by Temple-bar; I turned down Middle Temple lane, and went to the chambers; I went to put the key in the door and found the door was unlocked; with that, I opened the door, and found that the middle door was open; that alarmed me very much, and I instantly clapped to the outside door and put my back towards it; I then screamed out, finding the chambers were broke open, and a man immediately run out; it was not so dark but I could see the people passing; the person that was inside pushed three times against the door; he then pushed me quite back against the staircase, and ran out. Q. Were you, in the hurry of the moment, enabled to see who that man was? - A. Not at that moment; but I saw the colour of his clothes; I cannot say I saw the colour of his face; he was dressed in a light coloured coat, dark coloured breeches, and light coloured waistcoat; his hair was powdered, and a round hat, half boots, or gaiters, I will not be sure which. Q. Not a soldier's dress? - A. No; he ran up the middle of Temple-lane; upon my screaming, Morgan, one of the Temple porters, came to my assistance; Morgan then went into the chambers, I said in the passage, and the prisoner at the bar came up to me. Q. There was a considerable crowd at that time, I suppose? - A. A very great mob indeed; the prisoner asked me what I had lost. Q. Was the prisoner dressed in the same manner as the man that you had seen before? - A. Yes, he was. Q. Was it the same man that you had seen before? - A. I cannot say, only that he had the same fort of dress on; he asked me what I had lost, and I told him I believed he was the man that robbed my master; he made no reply, but immediately altered his countenance and went away; his countenance changed; I afterwards went into the chambers and observed my mistress's clothes lying upon a great coat in the bed room; shirts, shifts, and waistcoats, and other articles of wearing apparel, all spread upon a great coat; Morgan rolled them up in the great coat, and I saw them afterwards at Bow-street. Cross-examined by Mr. Gurney. Q. At the time you left the chambers you might see the face of a person exceedingly well? - A. Yes, if the face was towards me. Q. When you came back, then could you have seen the face of any person? - A. Yes. Q. When you saw the man go out, you only saw his back? - A. He went out side ways, and I saw his waistcoat. Q. He went out very fast, I suppose? - A. Yes. Q. A crowd assembled, and in the crowd was the prisoner at the bar? - A. Yes; he did not stop in the crowd but came up the steps to me. Q. When you say your suspicions fell upon him, did you desire any body to stop him? - A. No, I had no thought of it; he did not run, he walked away. THOMAS MORGAN sworn. - Examined by Mr. Knapp. I am porter to the Middle Temple: On the 28th of September, from ten minutes to about a quarter before seven, I was alarmed by a woman crying, and a dog barking; I saw the last witness standing at the entrance of No. 5, Brick-court; upon her information, I ran up the lane after the man, but did not see him, and I returned to the chambers and got a light; I went into the sitting room first, but saw no mark of violence there; I then went into the bed-room, and saw a great coat lying, with a quantity of clothes upon it; upon turning round, I found to my right hand, a set of drawers, there were five drawers and every one broke open, and the drawers emptied; there was scarce any thing left in the drawers of any value; I then searched the chambers over but found nobody; in the pocket of that great coat was a pocket-book; I opened the pocket-book, and the first thing I saw was a soldier's furlough, Thomas Dean , and there were two letters in it, one directed to a person in the Borough, and the other to one of his comrades; the pocket-book I took possession of immediately; I left the great coat till I got a warrant, and then I took possession of that; on the 31st of October, I took the great coat and the property to Bow-street, the prisoner was there. Mr. Gurney. Q. What was said was taken down in writting? - A. I cannot say. Mr. Ford. I was present, and it was not taken down. Morgan. He partly owned the great coat. Q. What do you mean by Partly? - A. He hardly said any thing about it. Q. Were you present at the second examination? - A. Yes, he then denied it; he said the great coat was not his; he said the pocket-book was his, that he had lost it through a hole in the pocket of the coat that he then had on; upon trying the hole, it could not have been dropped out at that hole. (Produces the pocket and the pocket-book.) It was handed to the Jury. One of the Jury, It will come out without any force, it might work out (produces the furlough): it is read, dated the 25th of September (Produces two towels, four shirts, three waistcoats, and a pair of breeches); these are the things I took out of the chambers. Q. (To Mr. Ford) You were present at the examination? - A. I was; the prisoner then said that the coat was his, and he said the pocket-book was his. Q. Did he say any thing at that time about having lost a pocket-book? - A. No, he did not; he said he had lost his great coat, on the Friday preceding the Saturday, with the pocket-book in the pocket; at the second examination he denied the great coat to be his; but stated that he lost the pocket-book on the Saturday evening, about five o'clock out of the right hand pocket of his close coat, and said he was not in the Temple that night. Mr. Gurney. Q. You and Morgan give us a directly opposite account? - A. I cannot help that. Q. Are you speaking of the same examination? - A. Yes. THOMAS JONES sworn. - I am a patrole belonging to Bow-street; I apprehended the prisoner on the 2d of October; I brought him to Bow- street, and he was examined that evening; I was present; the great coat was produced; the prisoner did not say any thing about the great coat till after the corporal had been examined, and then he said he had lost his pocket-book and great coat together. Q. At the first examination was the corporal examined? - A. I believe not. Mr. Ford. Yes, he was. Jones. At the second examination he was asked if the great coat was his, and he denied it; he said he had lost his pocket-book, and then put his hand to his right hand coat pocket, and said he had lost it out of that hole; I examined the hole, and tried the pocket-book with it, by the order of the Magistrate. Q. Do you think it possible that the pocket-book could have gone through that hole? - A. I think not; several people tried it. Q. Do you think the hole would get larger or smaller, from being frequently tried? - A. I should think it would get larger. Q. At the time you apprehended the prisoner, did you tell him what you apprehended him for? - A. I told him, I wanted to take him to Bow-street; he came along very quietly. EDWARD TREADWAY sworn. - Examined by Mr. Knapp. I am a constable; I was present at the second examination; Jones has given a correct account of what passed. WILLIAM JOHNSON sworn. - I am a corporal in the North Middlesex Militia; the prisoner is also a corporal in the North Middlesex Militia . Q. How long has he been a corporal? - A. I look upon it about a month; I cannot exactly say, or two months from this time. Q. He was raised from the ranks? - A. Yes. Court. Q. What was his name? - A. Thomas Dean. Mr. Knapp. Q. Look at that great coat? - A. I think I have seen it, but I cannot swear to it. Mr. Gurney. Q. He would not have been raised from the rank to be a corporal, if he had not bore a good character? - A. Certainly Mr. Knapp. Q. Do you know any thing about the prisoner wanting to have his furlough renewed? - A. Yes; on the 28th of September, we were together at the Blue Anchor, in Feather's-court, Drury-lane, and had some beer together; during that time, he asked me if I could speak to serjeant Morgan, to get his furlough renewed for a few days; his furlough expressed the third day of October, he pulled out his pocket-book, and I read the furlow myself. Q. Is that the furlough? - A. This is the furlough; this was on the Saturday; I told him I could not do it then, but I would speak to Mr. Morgan about it; then he went to the Conduit, in Conduit-street, to see a serjeant that was very ill; I stopped an hour and went away; I left them there together about five o'clock in the evening. Cross-examined by Mr. Gurney. Q. Had he any half-boots on at that time? - A. I cannot say. Q. Where is the regiment now? - A. At Norman-cross, near Stilton. The prisoner left his defence to his Counsel. GUILTY (Aged 20.) Of stealing the goods, but not guilty of breaking and entering the dwelling house . Transported for seven years . Tried by the second Middlesex Jury, before Mr. Baron THOMPSON.