Teenager charged over West Gate Bridge police pursuit revealed as Apex thug
A TEEN accused of leading police on a perilous West Gate Bridge rush-hour chase can be revealed as an Apex thug, with an accomplice a parolee on the run.
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A TEEN accused of leading police on a perilous West Gate Bridge rush-hour chase can be revealed as an Apex thug.
And one of his two accomplices was a parolee on the run from the law.
As Victoria’s youth crime wave worsens, the Herald Sun can reveal the Andrews Government is now scrambling to convert suburban police stations into detention centres and even use a maximum-security prison to house up to 40 youths.
One of the teens arrested when police swooped on a stolen green Holden Commodore on the West Gate on Monday is a known Apex gang member and Moomba rioter, 17, who once threatened rape during a home invasion.
All three are of African appearance.
The 18-year-old driver had also failed to answer bail while on youth parole.
The first of two teens to face a Children’s Court yesterday had stormed an Ormond home in April, hitting Chinese students with hammers and ordering two of them to perform sexual acts on each other.
Of that incident, police said in court documents: “The victims have pleaded with the offenders, who were laughing and started to record the incident on their mobile phones.”
Sentencing the teen, who has a lengthy criminal history, to an eight-month youth attendance order, the magistrate told him: “It’s not a show of strength to be involved in this type of disturbing behaviour.”
Yesterday, the boy appeared back in the dock on eight charges, including car theft, armed robbery, reckless conduct endangering life, and offending while on bail.
His co-accused, also 17, faced the Children’s Court on similar charges and is expected to apply for bail next week.
Police allege the trio stormed two jewellery stores and two tobacco stations in Lalor, Preston and Keysborough on Monday before stealing a car and hooning around Melbourne.
According to court documents, their joy ride took them as far as Little River, where police failed in attempts to bring the wild ride to an end.
They are accused of driving with three flat tyres at one point in a desperate bid to escape police.
The eldest teen appeared in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court yesterday over his alleged role in the spree.
He is being held in adult custody, at present, and will remain there unless his lawyer succeeds in an application to have him transferred to a youth justice centre.
He has been remanded to reappear in court in February.
In August, a magistrate placed the Apex member on a youth supervision order for affray committed during the Moomba riots, two home invasions, and a string of other crimes.
“You were involved in disturbing and violent behaviour that occurred in March this year while families enjoyed the attractions at Moomba,” the magistrate said during the August 25 hearing.
In the early hours of April 23, the teen had been with a mob who raided a Brighton East home and attacked a father who tried to defend his family with umbrella poles.
Members of the group then brutally assaulted students in an Ormond home with hammers before stealing their property.
He and a companion also smashed the rear light of a police divisional van after officers had released them following an incident of intimidating behaviour at Melbourne Central on April 3.