Dashcam films man breaking into ute at Middle Gorge train station
High-quality dashcam footage has captured the moment a man smashed his way into a ute during a daylight robbery at a train station in South Morang. WATCH THE FULL THEFT
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Dashcam has captured a man smashing his way into a ute during a daylight robbery at a suburban Melbourne train station.
The incredible footage, filmed by front and rear cameras, clearly identifies the thief as he smashes the ute’s back window and gets away with a $1000 car fridge.
The break in, which lasted only minutes, caused thousands of dollars damage to the vehicle and left South Morang man Matthew French with the inconvenience of getting it fixed.
Mr French parked his black ute at Middle Gorge station about 7.30am on November 21 before catching a train to the city where he works as a consultant for a defence contractor.
At 1.49pm that day a dark sedan with the registration WPT 526 can be seen entering the station carpark in South Morang on the ute’s rear camera, which was hooked up to a dual battery system and allowed it to run constantly.
The car drives around before heading towards the northern end of the carpark and pulling up in front of Mr French’s ute.
A man, wearing a white jumper, yellow shorts and slides on his feet, then jumps out of the sedan and has a look inside before grabbing an object from his car to smash the back and side windows of the ute.
He takes the fridge, with a few bottles of water and cans of coke inside, and drives out of the carpark at 12.54pm with the entire theft caught on camera.
Mr French told the Leader he could see the damage to his car from the train as it pulled into the station later that evening.
“I got off the train and because it was after 6pm the PSOs were standing on the platform where I got off and I mentioned to them that I was going to need their help,” he said.
“While they were standing there making notes and making some phone calls to their chain of command I was actually able to access the dash camera footage through the app because the cameras were still active.
“I had a look at the footage and said ‘here he is’.”
The Leader is aware of the man’s identity but has chosen not to publish his name.
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It’s understood he is also behind a number of similar alleged thefts over the past few months in Melbourne’s north.
Mr French said the theft had caused him a lot of inconvenience and urged anyone buying goods from second-hand online marketplaces to know where it was coming from, ask for receipts and warranty information and check for damage and ask how it occurred.
Whittlesea detectives confirmed they were investigating the incident but no arrest has been made.
Anyone with information should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.