Melbourne COVID-19 curfew: Teen caught in the north east
A teen has allegedly been profiting off people choosing to obey the COVID-19 curfew. While we’ve been staying indoors, he’s repeatedly been caught more than 40km from home and has allegedly been preying on people’s vehicles after curfew.
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An unruly teen has allegedly not only been defying Melbourne’s COVID-19 restrictions, but has been capitalising on the curfew by ransacking vehicles in the empty streets at night.
The 15-year-old has been accused of stealing from vehicles in the early hours of the morning, and of having spending sprees on stolen credit cards.
He was about 40km from his home when he was arrested just before 4am on August 28, leading to him spending five days locked in Melbourne Youth Justice Centre.
The teen fronted a Children’s Court on Wednesday, September 2, to apply for bail.
Senior Constable Matt Isaac said the teen was an unacceptable risk of offending if he was released, having allegedly offended on bail and repeatedly breached the COVID-19 restrictions, despite warnings from police.
Police found him heading into a McDonalds in the north eastern suburbs with a friend about 3.40am on August 28 — breaching curfew and more than 5km from home — before he noticed the officers and jumped into a nearby front yard.
He was then allegedly found to be carrying a car ashtray filled with change, a car phone charger and four pairs of designer sunglasses — all believed to have been stolen from vehicles.
The teen also allegedly had a torch and screwdriver, believed to be used to commit break-ins.
The court heard he was allegedly involved in the ransacking of unlocked vehicles overnight on August 18-19, in which wallets, money, sunglasses and clothing were stolen.
He was allegedly caught on CCTV using a credit card stolen from one of the cars at a 7 Eleven at 6am on August 19.
Later that day, he was allegedly spotted hanging out more than 40km from home, again breaching the Chief Health Officer’s stay-at-home regulations.
The court heard he was also believed to have been involved in a series of thefts from vehicles overnight on July 16-17.
He was then believed to be one of two men who tried to enter a house about 4.30am, using a key stolen from the resident’s car.
The offenders allegedly ran from the scene when the terrified resident screamed.
The teen then allegedly tried to use a stolen credit card in a taxi early on July 17, then had a spending spree at Woolworths and Aldi on a stolen card around 9am.
When police allegedly spotted him in a shopping centre he fled and ran through a high school, ransacking bags and lockers and stealing a wallet on the way, before he was found in a garage.
Lawyer Christina Windsich argued her client was unlikely to be sentenced to a period of detention for the crimes, and said he was enrolled in school, which he was unable to continue on remand due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Magistrate Helen Murphy agreed to grant him bail.
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