Jake Low: Alleged thief’s $300k burglary, shop wreck crime spree

A Berwick 25-year-old man facing more than 60 charges over 20-plus business burglaries has asked a court to let him free.

An alleged thief went on a $213,000 burglary spree targeting computer and electronic stores, milk bars, tool shops, servos, pubs and clubs in a two-month crime campaign, a court has heard.

Jake William Low has also been charged with causing a further $93,000 in damage by busting windows, breaking shutters and ripping off security bars of premises all across Melbourne.

The Berwick 25-year-old has been charged with more than 60 burglary, theft, criminal damage and bail breach crimes over the late night incidents.

Police say he was on several counts of bail at the time, and supposed to be abiding by a curfew and not driving a car or riding a motorbike.

Mr Low, who applied for bail at the Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, is contesting the charges.

Eastern Region Crime Squad detective Senior-Constable Mark Taylor told the court the alleged crime wave was extensive and expensive.

Reading out details of the alleged burglaries took two hours and revealed theft methods such as throwing rocks through windows, jemmying doors, grinding padlocks, using tow bars and ropes to pull off shutters and backing cars into shopfronts.

Police say between December 6 last year and February 19 this year Mr Low and accomplices were involved in more than 20 burglaries and attempted burglaries.

Suburbs hit include Seaford, Rowville, Mt Waverley, Mitcham, Clayton, Oakleigh South, Melton, Narre Warren, Dandenong South, Emerald and Campbellfield.

Jake Low

Regional locations including Warragul, Neerim South, Beaconsfield Upper, Tooradin and Launching Place were also the sites of alleged burglaries.

A surveillance operation was set up to follow the suspected burglars, with officers allegedly catching Mr Low trying to break in to a shop in Campbellfield on February 19.

After he was arrested officers allegedly found drugs, gloves, a picket driver, jemmy bar, angle grinder, hammer and sledgehammer and a “shopping list” of stolen items.

A subsequent raid of his home allegedly discovered clothing similar to what was seen in the burglaries and an array of goods believed to have been stolen during the thefts.

A distinctive blue motorbike, allegedly used in some of the burglaries, was found at Mr Low’s mum’s house and a track of his mobile phone placed him at the locations, police say.

Sen-Constable Taylor said they had a strong case with a lot of CCTV footage, DNA from Mr Low left at some of the scenes, the clothing evidence and allegedly stolen items recovered at his home.

He said police opposed bail because he was a very high risk of reoffending and didn’t abide by court orders, having been on six counts of bail in the past and allegedly breached all of them.

Mr Low’s defence lawyer said much of the evidence had yet to be forensically analysed and if the case was uplifted to the County Court for a trial, which is what the prosecution wanted, there would be a delay of “years”.

Magistrate Brian Clifford said he thought the “the police case was strong” and no bail conditions could be put in place to ameliorate his risk to the community.

Bail was refused and Mr Low will face court again next month.