Teenager charged with Bendigo machete home invasion, accused of 137km/h dangerous driving crash

A teenager on bail for an alleged Bendigo home invasion with a machete has fronted court accused of speeding at 137km/h in a 50km/h zone

A teenager has been charged with a Bendigo machete home invasion.

A teenager on bail for an alleged Bendigo home invasion with a machete has fronted court accused of doing at 137km/h in a 50km/h zone before crashing a car and bashing a random man in public.

The 17-year-old fronted a Children's’ Court on Tuesday accused of a “serious” crime spree while on bail in January.

The court heard the teenager was on bail after being charged with an aggravated home invasion with a machete on November 15, 2023 in Bendigo, which he is contesting.

On Tuesday police brought fresh allegations against the teenager including a police pursuit, an affray and a “string of thefts”.

The teenager has been charged with a home invasion while wielding a machete in Bendigo in November, 2023.

Police allege the teenager approached an unknown male in Bendigo on January 6 and chased him down and assaulted him, which was recorded by an onlooker.

Then on January 19, police allege the teenager drove a car at 137km/h in a 50km/h zone, sometimes on the wrong side of the road that ended in a “collision”.

On February 4 when police arrested the teenager, the court heard officers found him on a roof, allegedly “damaging property” by throwing things off the roof before behaving “threateningly when he was taken into police station”.

However, the teen’s lawyer opposed the move to revoke the teen’s bail, saying police were yet to charge the 17-year-old with the new allegations before the court.

The 17-year-old’s lawyer said if he was remanded in custody he could spend more time behind bars than any sentence imposed on him as police seek forensic evidence related to the teen’s alleged offending – which could take months.

Police alleged in court the 17-year-old was an “unacceptable risk” of committing further offences while on bail.

The teenager’s lawyer said he was Indigenous and should only be placed in custody as a last resort.

However, the magistrate said there was “evidence supporting” an alleged “suite of major offences”.

The magistrate said there was CCTV footage and circumstantial evidence that tied the teen to the allegations.

The magistrate said the 17-year-old had “demonstrated an abysmal attitude towards authority” and found him to be an “unacceptable risk” of committing further offences while on bail.

“It really turns on his attitude, he has demonstrated a clear attitude to not comply with the laws of the land and in my view he poses an unacceptable risk of reoffending, namely by committing these sort of acts of violence against persons and property,” the magistrate said.

The teen will be remanded in custody ahead of his next court date.