Jessie Johnson in bungled aggravated burglary after torchlight wakes up sleeping Mildura victim

A Mildura crook crept through homes and tried to break into cars in the dead of night, but a startled resident sent him packing before he was arrested the next day, a court has heard.

Jessie Johnson was chased off after breaking into a man’s house when his torchlight woke the sleeping victim. Picture: Generic

A torch-wielding intruder crept through a Mildura home in the dead of night, only to be chased off when the light from his torch woke the sleeping victim, a court has heard.

Jessie Johnson, 21, fronted Mildura Magistrates Court to plead guilty to charges of aggravated burglary, theft and two charges of attempted theft of a motor vehicle.

The court heard that, late on April 9, Johnson slipped inside the house via an unlocked sliding door before waking the occupant, who scared him off and forced him to flee.

He returned to the house a couple of hours later and attempted to steal a vehicle with a set of keys he took in the initial burglary.

Unfazed, Johnson then tried to break into two more vehicles at different addresses and managed to steal $15 in cash along with a stash of bank and ID cards from another car.

Magistrate Patrick Southey told Johnson he needed to turn his life around and there was nothing left for him in Mildura. Picture: Generic

Johnson was arrested the next day, caught with a backpack stuffed with clothing, a flashlight and gloves, which police matched to CCTV footage of the offending.

Police told the court they held grave concerns about Johnson’s risk to the public, with one officer saying, “(Johnson) is a significant risk to the public... he will reoffend if he is granted bail, I have no doubts about that.”

Ultimately Magistrate Patrick Southey sentenced Johnson to 62 days reckoned as time served and deferral bail to an address in Wendouree under strict CISP bail conditions.

Johnson was ordered not to drive a motor vehicle, remain at the address in Wendouree under strict curfew, not to use drugs and not to enter Mildura other than to attend court as conditions of his bail.

“You’ve got to turn your life around, there is no future for you here in Mildura,” Mr Southey said.