15-year-old boy granted bail over alleged Aintree aggravated carjackings

A teenage boy accused of a string of terrifying aggravated carjackings on the weekend allegedly messaged his co-accused on his mother’s phone while being interviewed by police.

A teenage boy and three others were allegedly behind a number of terrifying carjackings in Melbourne’s northwest.

A 15-year-old boy charged over a string of terrifying weekend carjackings, linked to yet another five, and who allegedly texted his co-accused to “delete messages” while he was being interviewed by police has been bailed.

The boy, who can’t be named for legal reasons, applied for bail in a Children’s Court on Wednesday after he was arrested on the weekend alongside three other boys, who will face court over the next two days.

The teenager is accused of two separatate carjackings with a machete in Aintree and later in Sunshine on Friday, before he allegedly stole a Toyota Kluger and a Mitsubishi Mirage from Kings Park.

One of the four boys accused of a string of carjackings in Melbourne’s northwest fronted court on Wednesday.

On Saturday, the boy was charged with aggravated carjacking with a machete, destroying a mobile phone, handling stolen goods, driving without a licence and possessing cannabis.

In opposing bail, the prosecution said the boy had been linked to a further five carjackings since his arrest, although at least three of the investigations were at a “very early” stage of the investigation.

They also alleged the youngster used his mother’s phone during his police interview on the weekend and was in contact with his co-accused, where messages such as “no comment” and “delete messages” were allegedly exchanged.

Four boys have been accused of a number of carjackings in Melbourne’s northwest last Friday.

First Constable Megan Butler from the Brimbank Divisional Response Unit told the court she was concerned if he was granted bail he would be able to delete key evidence from his social media.

Magistrate Julie O’Donnell questioned why this would be the case as police had seized the boy’s mobile and could “take screenshots” of the alleged social media evidence.

The boy had been refused bail on the weekend, but after a “much more thorough assessment” by a youth justice worker, he was found suitable for bail.

The court heard the boy went from “zero to one hundred” in regards to his offending and had never even been cautioned by police until his arrest on the weekend.

He regularly attended school, has a supportive family and also worked part-time.

The four boys were allegedly armed with machetes.

The youth justice worker who met with the boy in prison said he was “open, honest and genuine in his answers” and presented “really positively, polite and engaged well” with his assessment.

The boy’s mother and father appeared in court in support of him, and his mother gave evidence she would help enforce her son’s bail conditions if the magistrate granted bail.

His mother told the court she had “hardly eaten and hardly slept since he’s been remanded”.

Ms O’Donnell granted the boy bail with strict conditions, including not being able to access his mobile phone or social media.

He will also have a curfew from 9pm to 6am unless he is supervised with a parent and cannot contact his co-accused outside of school time.

“If you breach your bail conditions … You will end up back in custody, and it will be very difficult to grant bail,” Ms O’Donnell told the boy.

He will return to court on May 28 for a further mention.