Lionel Combo pleaded guilty at Dandenong Court to latest string of car thefts, burglaries and more
Narre Warren police released one of Melbourne’s most prolific car thieves. He struck next an hour later — across the road.
South East
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A shameless car thief is facing more time behind bars after a five month spree where he targeted multiple car dealerships, including one directly opposite a police station.
Lionel Combo, 26, pleaded guilty in the Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on March 3 to multiple counts of motor vehicle theft, trespass and more.
The court heard Combo began his string of offending in March last year, with a spate of car thefts in Berwick.
From March to July of 2024, Combo stole or attempted to steal more than 10 vehicles from car dealerships, Berwick and Narre Warren properties and from petrol stations and drive-through liquor servos while the victims were inside.
On Monday Magistrate Andrew Waters characterised Combo’s offending as serious, saying “cars are often the second most valuable item people spend their money on”.
“It’s brazen, the way you kept going back, in the middle of the night almost exclusively to dealerships,” he said.
“You’ve forced your way through the front door, taking various keys … it’s a lot of offending and quite opportunistic.”
Mr Waters noted one occasion where Combo broke into a dealership opposite a police station just one hour after being released from police custody.
“The only (sentence) I can give would be for a significant term of imprisonment with a non-parole period.”
The court heard Combo has spent time in prison for similar charges, as well as being previously sentenced in the County Court for attempted armed robbery and theft.
Mr Waters said he wanted more time to think about the exact length of Combo’s sentence, saying he had to “take into account community protection” due to his prior offending.
Combo will return to the Dandenong Magistrates’ Court for sentencing on March 19.
He has spent 119 days on remand.
