John Sheey

Level 135

C H on 9th March 2024

Old Bailey Online JOHN SHEEY. THOMAS SMITH. Theft; simple larceny (from 1827). 28th February 1842 Text type Trial account Defendants JOHN SHEEY, THOMAS SMITH Offences Theft > Simple larceny Session Date 28th February 1842 Reference Number t18420228-864 Verdicts Guilty, Guilty Punishments Transportation 864. JOHN SHEEY and THOMAS SMITH were indicted for stealing, on the 21st of January, 23 bags, value 23s.; and 4592lbs. weight of rags, value 38l.; the goods of William Louis Moinier Leschallas. MR. CLARKSON conducted the Prosecution. WILLIAM SPALL . I was, up to last Monday, a carman, in the employ of Mr. John Reilly, of Maidstone-wharf—I live in Walker-street, Longacre. On Monday afternoon, the 31st of January, between three and four o'clock, I was at Brook's-wharf-lane, Upper Thames-street, loading a cart' as I was about to leave, I found I was stopped by a cart which was loading at Mr. Leschallas' warehouse, in Brook-wharf-lane—before I noticed the cart standing there, I saw Smith come down the lane with the key, and another man with him—Smith unlocked the door of Mr. Leschallas' warehouse, and went in—after that I saw both the prisoners inside the warehouse—I knew Sheey as being then in the employ of Mr. Leschallas, and Smith as having been in his employ—Sheey was then delivering the goods from the loophole of the warehouse to another man in the cart—it was the man who accompanied Smith to the warehouse—there were four persons there in all—they continued to load the cart till it was overloaded, and it broke the wanty,—the horse was hung up by the collar, and I took hold of the cart to prevent it—Sheey gave me a small piece of rope to make the horse seem (he appeared rather tipsy)—I told him the rope was not strong enough, and I heard Smith speaking to him, as if reproaching him for not exerting himself to get another rope—another man, a brewer, then came up, and wanted to get by—he held the horse, and I ran to my own stable, and got a piece of rope—another man and the brewer made it fast, and it was drawn out—I did not stop to see the prisoners fasten up the warehouse. Cross-examined by MR. PHILLIPS. Q. You saw Smith and another go into the warehouse? A. I saw Smith unlock the warehouse and go in—I did not see whether the other man followed him in or not—I saw six or eight yards from the warehouse—I saw Smith open the warehouse with the key—I should think another man could not have gone in without my seeing him while I was there—Sheey appeared to me to be tipsy he was in a working dress—I thought he was tipsy, because when I asked for a rope, he appeared not to exert himself," and I should have thought when an accident like that occurred, he would—it was between half-past three and four o'clock. MR. CLARKSON. Q. Did you know Sheey before? A. Yes one of the men with the cart asked me to have something to drink. DANIEL TAYLOR . I am in the service of Truman and Hanbury, the brewers—I was in Brook's-wharf-lane, Thames-street, on the 21st of January—there were two other carts, and I could not get by—the fore-most cart was loaded with rags—I went up, and the horse was hanging—I laid hold of the shafts to keep them down—I assisted Spall to get it right—when the wanty was mended, and the horse was secure, one of the men in the rag cart asked me to lend him a horse to get out, and I did so—I did not see the prisoners there. Cross-examined. Q. Do not you think you would know the other men if you were to see them? A. There were four men—the prisoners are not the two men who were with the cart—I did not see them there I am positive. COURT. Q. How many men did you see? A. Two—I did not see any other men near the cart. JOHN POTTON . I am waiter at the White-horse public-house in Cloakline, near Budge-row. On the 31st of January, about three o'clock in the afternoon, I saw Sheey into the tap-room—Smith afterwards came in, and asked for John Sheey—he asked me to go into the tap-room, and tell him that be wanted to speak to him—I went and told Sheey, and he said he did not want him, and he looked as if he did not want him—he spoke in an angry tone—I went back and told Smith that he did not want him—Smith seemed rather agitated and confused—he walked to the tap-room door, and looked over the glass at the top of the door—I had occasion to gain to the parlour, and when I returned in about three or five minutes, I lost tight of them both. Cross-examined. Q. How long had Sheey been in the house? A. I think about five minutes—I did not notice if he took anything to drink—he seemed to me to be sober. WILLIAM DAY . I am foreman in the rag department of the warehouse of Mr. William Louis Moinier Leschallas—one of his warehouses is in Brook-wharf-lane—Sheey has been in his service several years as a weekly labourer—Smith has been in my employer's service as carman till within the last nine months—on the 31st of January I was employed at the ware-house in Size-lane, and Sheey was there—the keys of the warehouse in Brooks'-wharf-lane were hung up in the floor of the warehouse in Size-lane, where Sheey was employed—the key of the water-closet hung on the same nail—Sheey was absent that day from about five minutes before two o'clock till about a quarter before four—when I noticed the absence of Sheey about five minutes before two, I noticed that the keys of Brooks'-wharf-lane warehouse were gone—Sheey had the opportunity of taking them—on the day following I had occasion to send Sheey and two other labourers to the warehouse in Brooks'-wharf-lane—up to that time I had' no knowledge that the warehouse had been robbed—in consequence of information that one of them brought, I went to the warehouse between five and six, and I discovered the loss of twenty-three bags of rags, weighing about 41 cwt., worth about 38l.—on the Tuesday evening, about nine, Sheey came in—I asked him how he accounted for having the keys of Brook-wharf warehouse in his possession on the previous afternoon—he acknowledged having them, but said he had taken them by mistake, and he had gone to Queenhithe, meaning a place for public accommodation—he had no right whatever to take the keys of the warehouse for any purpose that day—inquiries were made, and we discovered the witnesses who ad seen this, and Spall came and picked out Sheey from among the men, as having been at the warehouse that afternoon. Cross-examined. Q. Though he had no right to take the keys of the warehouse, there was no objection to his taking the key of the water. closet? A. No—I saw Sheey return on the Monday, at a quarter before four o'clock—he appeared to have been drinking—he was not insensibly drunk—I am not aware that I ever said he was sober on that occasion—he went to work the next day. SHEEY— GUILTY . Aged 28.) SMITH- GUILTY . Aged 30. Transported for Seven Years.