Mildura Magistrates’ Court: Kevin Mitchell pleads guilty to multiple charges of attempted aggravated burglary after frightening home invasion

A victim has told a Mildura court of the terrifying moments two brutal cousins broke through their front door during a frightening home invasion.

Two men have pleaded guilty to three attempted aggravated burglary charges on one aggravated burglary charge after they traumatised a household in Mildura.

Two Mildura cousins have been jailed after subjecting three housemates to a “horrifying” home invasion, leaving them “scared to be home alone”.

Kevin Mitchell, the second cousin to front court, pleaded guilty in Mildura Magistrates’ Court on October 25 to one charge of aggravated burglary and three charges of attempted aggravated burglary.

The court heard the pair — William Mitchell has already been jailed — were seen in CCTV footage on August 1 wearing distinctive clothing, just hours before the offending took place.

In their first attempted break-in, the cousins rang the doorbell of the victim’s home before trying to break down the front door.

Woken by the noise, the victim disturbed the duo, causing them to retreat from the property.

The pair ran 500m down the road and attempted to break into two more houses, but were disturbed both times.

All three attempts were caught in CCTV footage.

Their fourth and final attempt was successful, where they kicked through a front door into a house with three sleeping victims inside.

The two men went from room to room, before reaching the back of the house where the three victims were hiding.

Kevin attempted to open the door, but was stopped by the victims on the other side and the pair quickly fled the house, taking various items with them.

Police arrested the cousins after raids turned up some of the missing items.

Kevin made full admissions in a police interview and remained in custody.

The court heard a victim impact statement where one victim said they were now afraid to be home alone.

“I’ve lost sleep due to the fear of someone being in my home,” they said.

“The relationships between my housemates have changed, we always make sure none of us are home alone at night anymore.”

Magistrate Patrick Southey said it was clear William was the “prime mover”.

“He (William) had prior convictions for aggravated burglary, Mr Mitchell here does not,” Mr Southey said.

Mr Southey acknowledged Mitchell’s condition and said his moral culpability was lower than his cousin’s.

“He’s about as disadvantaged as you can be. An acquired brain injury, an intellectual disability, he suffers from schizophrenia, abuses drugs and self medicates for his mental health issues.”

“He’s in such a terrible way that imprisonment might actually be good for him.”

Kevin Mitchell was sentenced to three months in prison with 33 days already served.

William Mitchell was sentenced in September to 12 months behind bars.