A burglar stole gold bars with value of $73,000 from a laundromat in Auckland. He must give up the gold bars to the Crown now. This announcement comes after a judge previously ruled that the burglar could have majority of the value of the gold bars in cash form.
The burglar was identified as Raymond Law. Law got a sentence of 23 months of jail time back in February 2020 after he stole the gold bars from an Auckland laundromat. Law was found guilty for committing burglary. He was also deemed guilty for stealing $11,000 in four other instances.
According to the judge, the gold bars needed to be sold. $11,000 of the value of the gold bars should go to the Crown, and Law could keep the remaining amount. The exact price worth of the gold bars was $73,224.75.
Justice Matthew Palmer from the High Court in Auckland stated that Law’s story as to where he got the gold bars was suspicious. Palmer said, though, the police could not trace where the gold bars came from, either. The police requested for Palmer’s investigation of the case on the basis of the suspect’s past convictions for burglary, theft, and dishonest acts.
But, Palmer argued that it wasn’t legally fair for Law to acquire some of the value of the gold bars. The police agreed with Palmer. On Friday, October 8, 2021, the Court of Appeal’s verdict that the Crown should acquire all of the value of the gold bars was announced.
The Court of Appeal reiterated that Law’s explanation as to where he got the gold bars when the burglary took place did not make any sense. Law previously told police he got the gold bars from his Canadian grandmother. After two weeks, the suspect told a different story. At that time, Law said his grandmother gave the gold bars to his father while he was on a trip in Canada in 1993. Law continued to allegedly explain that his father passed on the gold bars to him.
Law further shared he did not want to leave the gold bars at home at the time the robbery took place. He got into a fight with his partner at that moment, and did not want to have the gold bars at home with her.
There were no reports of gold bars missing filed. The bars had serial numbers on them, though. According to investigators, these gold bars originally came from a gold mine in Perth, located in a western part in Australia. The bars were minted 17 years following Law’s story of his father’s “alleged” trip to Canada.
