A man facing more than 50 charges after up to $150,000 worth of allegedly stolen goods was found around a Bridge Pa property earlier this year is continuing to deny the charges.
Peter John James Gray, 42, of Bridge Pa, faces 45 charges of receiving stolen property, three of burglary,two of unlawful possession of a firearm or ammunition, and one each of unlawful taking a motor vehicle, theft, possession of a pipe for the use of methamphetamine and driving while suspended.
Arrested after police discovered the hoard at a Ngatarawa Rd property on August 25, Gray has pleaded not guilty and elected trial by jury, and is on remand awaiting a case review hearing in Napier District Court on January 27.
The charges were laid progressively after police invited burglary and theft victims to the Ngatarawa Rd address to claim property, much of it from construction sites and some reported as stolen as much as two years earlier.
More than 40 victims then pored over hundreds of items including a kitchen assembly, timber, appliances, a trailer, tools and other items including scaffolding, which was being used as a rack for storing some of the materials. A college rugby team's tackle bags and hit pads were among the collection.
Senior Constable Pehi Potaka, of the Hawke's Bay Police tactical crime unit, said a considerable amount of seized property remains unclaimed, although some of it is clearly marked and would be easily identified by owners.
