Beggars can’t be choosers with court
Napier beggar Frank Lovich has a knack for being present where he’s not wanted and absent when he’s needed.
The 54-year-old habitue of the city’s CBD was supposed to appear in court yesterday, but was nowhere to be seen.
With more than 300 convictions to his name, and already facing a charge of breaching council bylaws by soliciting for money, he is now facing four further charges.
He is accused of stealing a shopping trolley from Napier’s Pak ‘n Save supermarket, behaving in a disorderly manner at the Marewa shopping centre, and for trespassing on two properties he had been banned from. The alleged offending occurred in late June and early July.
Judge Geoff Rea issued a warrant for Lovich’s arrest after he failed to turn up in Napier District Court.
Lovich has a long history with the Hawke’s Bay courts.
In February, he pleaded guilty to charges related to begging, including fraud. Police laid the fraud charge because he was begging with a sign saying he needed money for food and shelter but he was paid a benefit of $380 a week and had a home in Hastings.
Shortly before he was released from prison, the Probation Service made an unsuccessful application to attach a GPS monitoring anklet to Lovich so his whereabouts could be tracked and he could be kept out of the Napier and Hastings central city areas.
Since getting out of jail in April, he’s amassed five charges of soliciting for money.
Four other Napier beggars facing the same charge have pleaded not guilty, claiming the bylaw cannot stop them begging because it is their human right.