Teen who trashed luxury Hawthorn East Airbnb rental home ‘copied’ friends: court heard
A TEEN who joined in trashing a luxury Airbnb rental home while out on bail says he was just copying his mates.
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A TEEN who joined in trashing a luxury Airbnb rental home while out on bail says he was just copying his mates.
The 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told police he hurled furniture through a glass door of the $3 million home in Hastings Rd, Hawthorn East, “because a group of friends did the same”.
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It was the only excuse he offered police. And the teenager, who is so far the only person to have been charged, refused to name any of the up to 50 African youths who were involved in last Saturday night’s out-of-control party.
The teen pleaded guilty in a Children’s Court on Friday to criminal damage, possessing cannabis, and committing an indictable offence on bail.
He also pleaded guilty to four charges relating to a gang assault on a man at a South Melbourne McDonald’s in January and to the robbery of a passenger on a Pakenham-bound train in May.
Police received six calls overnight about Saturday’s party but never went inside.
The first call was from a frightened neighbour who found an African male in her back yard at 9.06pm; he told her he had been locked out.
At 1.09am, police were called again after a girl banged on the door of another house, saying she had been assaulted.
Police revisited at 2.07am after a noise complaint and observed “40 to 50 young persons of African appearance”.
Residents called police to complain about noise again at 3.53am, 4.07am and 4.09am.
A Protective Services Officer who lived in the street was robbed as he left for work at 6am, and police arrived soon after and used capsicum spray to disperse the crowd.
On entering the home they found damage to plaster walls and wiring, upturned furniture, smashed windows and doors, and graffiti.
Up to $300,000 of damage was caused.
Windows and panels of a Mercedes Benz in the garage were smashed.
An application for $1000 compensation — the maximum that can be made in the Children’s Court — has been lodged against the teen.
Investigators were able to identify the teen in footage posted on social media that showed the lounge chair being thrown through a glass door.
The court heard the property had been rented on Airbnb for the night, for $330, by an African woman saying she was having a get-together with female friends, some of them visiting from Adelaide.
She has been identified and questioned, but no charges have yet been laid.
Remanding the teen for sentencing, magistrate Pauline Spencer told him: “The offending I have heard about is not acceptable.”
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