Children’s Court releases accused youth criminal on bail after alleged Bendigo crime tear

An accused youth crim has been released on bail despite police warning he was living a “double life” – playing the system to stay out of jail as he allegedly crept into Bendigo homes at night.

A teen who allegedly posted videos of high speed hooning in a car that was allegedly stolen in a home invasion hours earlier has been released on bail.

A Children’s Court magistrate has released an accused youth criminal – who is charged with wielding a knife during a home invasion – because all his alleged criminal mates have been locked up on remand.

The 16-year-old faced a magistrate vying for bail on Wednesday charged over a home invasion, burglaries and car thefts in Bendigo, Central Victoria and Melbourne.

He was previously refused bail in March following an aggravated burglary in Daylesford where three youth crims allegedly stole a Porsche 911 valued at about $500,000 and a Mini Cooper.

Police allege the teen committed a home invasion while wielding a large knife.

The teen allegedly filmed the stolen Porsche doing 250km/h on the Calder Highway and posted it on Instagram.

The court heard the teen had also been charged with aggravated home invasion after he went into a Princess Hill home wielding a large serrated knife in November alongside a number of other “known youth offenders” and stole cash and car keys.

The teen allegedly committed the home invasion just seven days after he had been sentenced to a youth supervision order over a spate of aggravated burglaries, car thefts, violent robberies and affrays in 2023 and 2024.

The teen was released on bail.

Police opposed bail, alleging the teen had been “living a double life”, appearing on the surface to have a “near faultless” engagement with Youth Justice supports and education, while allegedly going out on “organised and orchestrated” crime tears.

A police detective told the court the teen allegedly continued to reoffend while on bail alongside other known youth crims and had brazenly breached every condition placed on him.

The detective said the 16-year-old was a major threat to public safety, allegedly wielding a knife and willing to use it during a home invasion.

A magistrate said despite the bail act requiring public safety to be put first, the risk to the community of released the teen was “acceptable”.

Legal Aid claimed this time was different, arguing that 44 days in youth detention had wised up the youngster.

Arguing it was “important” to give him an “opportunity”, his legal advocate said he should be released to live with his family.

Claiming he was a follower swept along by other alleged youth crims, Legal Aid argued he was unlikely to reoffend because all of his known youth criminal associates were locked up on remand.

The court heard the teen had been kicked out of one school, and all but banned from another – with the teen considered a “risk” of “negatively influencing” other vulnerable students through his alleged criminal behaviour in the community.

The teen was charged with home invasion, burglary and car theft.

However, Youth Justice was now “pushing” the school to have him back for more than two hours a day, and had planned to enrol the troubled teen in road trauma awareness and violence programs.

The magistrate granted the teen’s bail application, finding “there is no doubt risk”, but it was an “acceptable” risk despite amendments to the bail act that require courts to put community safety first.

The magistrate said there was “complex” and “multifaceted” supports in place to help the teen shift his “criminal attitudes and bravado” to something more productive.

The magistrate said the teen “runs a very real risk” of being sentenced to further youth detention if found guilty.

He will return to court at a later date while Legal Aid contest the bulk of the charges, claiming police cannot prove beyond reasonable doubt he committed the crimes he is accused of.