Teen faces 30 charges for criminal offending across Melbourne’s east

A wayward teenager so bad even his mum told police to lock him up has been denied bail after fronting court on dozens of charges including car theft, unlicensed driving and making threats to kill.

Magistrate Jan Maclean said the boy’s young age needed to be balanced with the need to protect the community when she denied his bail application.

A teenager arrested over a string of alleged car thefts, burglaries, fraud, and making threats to kill is so out-of-control even his mum told police to lock him up.

The 16-year-old fronted court on Tuesday where he faced 30 charges including two car thefts, thefts from cars, burglaries, using stolen credit cards, possessing the proceeds of crime, unlicensed driving, trespass and criminal damage.

Acting Sergeant Nicole Finter told the court his alleged offending included threatening to kill police, include a police officer’s wife and children.

She said the teen’s alleged crime spree across the eastern suburbs last three months from November to February, and he was on bail at the time of the alleged offending.

Acting Sgt Finter said the boy’s mother initially told police she didn’t want her son bailed before changing her mind — on the condition he be slapped with strict bail conditions by the court.

Youth Justice had also withdrawn their support for the teen as a result of his repeat serious offending, she said.

The boy’s lawyer, Royce Dekker, told the court the teen’s age needed to be considered and he should be released, but he acknowledged the alleged crimes were difficult to look past.

Magistrate Jan Maclean said there “has to be a limit” to the leeway young offenders were given by the courts due to their age and this needed to be balanced with community safety.

“The risk (of harm to the community) at some stage has to mean something and it would seem to me that (the boy) has arrived at that destination,” Ms Maclean said.

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“The aspect of this, Mr Dekker, that worries me the most is they (the accused and his co-accused) are still driving cars … 16-year-olds with no driver education are not supposed to drive on roads.

“I accept that to remand a young person is only to be taken as a last resort … (but) in my view the unacceptable risk (to the community) ameliorated or reduced to an acceptable standard.”

The boy was remanded and is due back at court next week.