Dandenong Magistrates Court: Ryan Eyles leads police on wild chase after car theft

A man who led police on a chase through Melbourne’s southeast, reaching speeds of 200km/h had previously burgled a chemist taking more than $50,000 worth of stock.

Eyles escaped the stolen car he was driving ands got into a getaway car at Chadston shopping centre.

A young man who stole more than $50,000 worth of stock from a chemist was tracked down by the dog squad after stealing a car and leading police on a chase through the southeastern suburbs, reaching speeds of over 200km/h.

Ryan Eyles, 24, fronted Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday where he pleaded guilty to a raft of charges including theft of a motor vehicle and burglary.

Eyles was spotted by police speeding in a white Mercedes along Kingdom Dr in Cranbourne just before 5am on January 10 this year.

The police chopper was called in and monitored the car as Eyles drove onto a kerb and across a footpath to get around a police car on Satin St Cranbourne.

The 24-year-old drove onto the South Gippsland Freeway where he reached speeds of 200km/h.

Eyles then made his way onto the Monash Freeway before getting onto the Princes Highway where he drove into oncoming traffic near Springvale Rd “narrowly” missing other cars and semi-trailers.

He ran multiple red lights and continued speeding, almost causing several serious collisions.

Just after 5am Eyles switched off his headlight while travelling at 202km/h as he approached the intersection of Clayton Rd and the Princes Highway in Clayton.

Eyles drove into an underground car park at Chadstone shopping centre before abandoning the car and jumping into a waiting getaway car.

When police found the Mercedes, they confirmed it had been stolen the previous day from Cranbourne East.

The car that Eyles had made his escape into, a grey Toyota Kluger, drove towards Springvale Rd on the Princes Highway.

The car sped away from police, swerving to miss the tyre deflation devices police had used.

The car sped through the Dandenong CBD and made its way to Burwood where it was dumped outside Deakin University and Eyles and the driver of the Kluger ran away.

The canine unit was bought in to search the university for Eyles, who was found a short time later in a residential backyard.

When he was arrested and searched police found the keys to the stolen Mercedes as well as a vial of GHB.

When police searched Eyles phone they found pictures of the stolen Mercedes and pictures from inside the Kluger, which had also been stolen.

The Kluger had been stolen late in 2022 by Eyles and used in a burglary in September where Eyles and another male broke into the Balnarring IGA and tried to steal cigarettes.

Eyles also pleaded guilty to a string of theft and dishonesty charges including a ram raid at Chemist Warehouse in Frankston South where $55,000 worth of health and beauty products were stolen from the store.

Eyles will be assessed for his suitability to enter the drug court system, a stream of the court that focuses on rehabilitating offenders whose offending stems from drug abuse issues.

Eyles had previously been found unsuitable for a drug and alcohol order.