Bradley Brown in Latrobe Valley Court over raft of charges

A barefoot thief fled into a pine forest in the Latrobe Valley while trying to dodge police who later found him “exhausted and dirty” with a pair of $300 steel capped boots.

Bradley Brown, 27, appeared from the custody cell at the Latrobe Valley Magistrates’ Court.

A barefoot thief who fled into a pine plantation in Gippsland to escape chasing police was later caught wearing a pair of $300 steel cap boots he’d stolen from a farm

Bradley Brown, 27, appeared from the custody cell at the Latrobe Valley Magistrates’ Court on Friday, pleading guilty to a raft of charges including theft, unlicensed and disqualified driving, driving without number plates, handling stolen goods, theft of a motor vehicle and dealing with property suspected of being proceeds of crime.

The court heard Brown, who was a passenger in a car, got out at a Coles Express in Morwell, filled it with $92 of fuel and left without paying in May last year.

On another occasion, he was caught driving without a licence, no number plates and had a bag of methamphetamine.

Brown was arrested and taken to the police station, where he told officers the drug was for personal use.

The court heard Brown was arrested after he was busted driving unlicensed without displaying number plates and possessing methamphetamine. Picture: NCA NewsWire

In December, Brown and a co-accused went to a pizza shop where the co-accused, known to the victim, asked to use the toilet.

She then allegedly took the victim’s car keys and Brown drove the stolen car with the co-accused in the passenger seat.

The vehicle was dumped in Hazelwood North days later due to running out of fuel, and the pair then walked through scrubland for three hours before they approached a person’s home, asking them to call a taxi.

However, the person asked the pair to leave and called the police.

When police arrived, the pair tried to run away, with only Brown managing to escape.

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He fled into nearby pines and police later found the dumped vehicle, stolen number plates and some methamphetamine inside.

Brown, who was barefoot, went to a property and stole steel cap boots and was then found by police wearing them while hiding in the pines, looking “exhausted and dirty”.

The court heard Brown had spent 221 days in custody.

Brown was convicted and released on bail.