James Demetriou pleads guilty to terrifying standover for missing teen, machete mugging, moped chase

A thug pulled a knife on the friends of a missing teen for “a laugh” in Ringwood East before his masked associates kidnapped the girl at the request of her parents.

A Braybrook thug pulled a knife on the friends of a missing teen for “a laugh” in Ringwood East before his masked associates kidnapped the girl at the request of her parents, a court has heard.

James Demetriou, 21, pleaded guilty to a slew of violent offences including the standover of the missing teen, an armed robbery and a dangerous moped chase in the Ringwood Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

Demetriou, who was 19 at the time of the offending, pulled up to a Ringwood East bungalow with a 15cm knife, a balaclava and several other armed associates.

James Demetriou, 21, appeared before the Ringwood Magistrates Court on Tuesday. Picture: Supplied

A teenage girl, who was reported missing after she did not return home after school, was inside the bungalow with several other teenagers.

Demetriou and his armed friends threatened the teens with their weapons — including the large knife and a machete — to get them to hand over the missing teen so they could take her home.

The teen’s parents ordered the group to go find the girl after they tracked her phone’s location to the bungalow.

A knife was held to the stomach of one teenager and a pair of Nike TN shoes were also stolen before the missing girl got in the car with the offenders and was driven home.

Police followed the car to Airport West after being alerted by those in the bungalow.

Days later, Demetriou was arrested after police searched his Braybrook home and found the knife.

Demetriou told an officer he and the other offenders used the balaclavas and weapons for “a laugh” and said they were “doing a good thing” by getting the teen home.

He also pleaded guilty to a terrifying robbery where he and a group of associates mugged a pedestrian by pulling machetes on the victim before they stole his phone and hoodie in Sunshine West.

During another incident Demetriou narrowly avoided hitting pedestrians while he was trying to evade police on his moped in Bacchus Marsh.

The chase came to an end when he hit a car and was thrown from the moped before he was arrested.

He was wearing a balaclava and had a machete in his pants.

Demetriou was carrying a machete during the moped chase. Picture: Supplied

Demetriou’s lawyer said he was dependent on Xanax and cannabis at the time of the offending and it was all “pack related offending” with associates who were bad influences.

Magistrate Kristie Grigor said it was all “terribly dangerous offending” and ordered Demetriou undergo an assessment for a community corrections order.

He will return to court on April 28.