Teen machete home invasion and theft sparks call for change from Seaford retiree

A Seaford man is urging neighbours to arm themselves after two machete-wielding teens broke into his home and stole his cars — but it’s what he later learned that really left him shocked.

A Seaford retiree has urged neighbours to secure their windows and sleep with a cricket bat nearby after confronting two machete-wielding teens in his dining room at 2.30am.

Despite Premier Jacinta Allan’s move to beef up the state’s bail laws, John, 74, is fed up after learning one of the teens had already racked up more than 60 offences when they broke into his family home in January.

“I heard someone moving around, so I got up with my torch and walked out to find them at the sliding entrance door,” he recounted.

“One of them silently raised a machete vertically in his hand and I just screamed at them to get out of the house.”

John is encouraging others to lock their doors and remain vigilant. Picture: Tony Gough

While the hooded teens ran out the back door, John quickly learnt they had taken the family’s two cars with them.

“I just thought to myself ‘I’m not going out’ because I didn’t know who was out there or what they would do,” he said.

The events that followed have become all too familiar to residents of Melbourne’s east.

The teens aged 14 and 16 were apprehended after a reckless joy ride that saw one of the vehicles written off and the other with severe front-end damage.

John’s cars were stolen by machete-wielding teens. Picture: Tony Gough

After learning the teens had a history of offending, John said he knew it was only a matter of time before they would be back out on bail.

“There’s no accountability for the kids that undertake these crimes,” he said.

“They get a slap on the wrist and supervision orders, which they just keep breaking over and over again.

“I reckon if you break the conditions of your bail, you’ve got to be up for a period of time in prison for a mandatory sentence.”

Two months after the break-in, John still struggles to sleep.

“When I wake up in the middle of the night, I listen hard to see if there’s anyone else walking around and then I have trouble getting back to sleep,” he said.

When asked if he had a message for other families in the community, John said: “Don’t think it won’t happen to you.

“Make sure you lock your windows and have a cricket bat or a baseball bat nearby.

“A supervision order is not gonna stop them. They care more about the perpetrators than the victims.”

Opposition Leader Brad Battin fronted the media on Saturday. Picture: Laura Placella

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Brad Battin fronted the media for the first time this week, vowing to “strengthen” the new bail and machete laws proposed by the state government.

The Premier unveiled the “toughest bail laws” in the country on Wednesday and details of a machete ban on Thursday, but Mr Battin – a former cop and shadow police minister – was noticeably absent from the debate.

“I’ve had personal leave for the last four days. During that time, obviously, (the state government) has come out with some policies that we’ve been waiting two and half years for,” he said at a press conference on Saturday morning.

“I will say I went up to Brisbane, whilst I was up there, I saw my parents who have had the impact of the cyclone.

“It was a pre-planned trip.”

Mr Battin’s last press conference was on Sunday, March 9.

The state government plan to introduce the bail legislation to parliament on Tuesday, with the Opposition Leader pledging to make it the “the most important week here in this parliament”.

“We’ll make sure we amend the government’s legislation to ensure that moving forward the legislation is strong enough to protect communities,” he said.

Mr Battin said the Coalition was yet to be shown legislation, but confirmed if it was not strong enough, his team would work to “make it stronger”.

“If it doesn’t genuinely prohibit machetes permanently and as soon as possible, we will make amendments to make sure it is tougher,” he said.

“And … we have said if at minimum they don’t return bail to what it was in March 2023 to make sure that offenders can get charged with committing an offence whilst on bail, then we will make amendments to make it tougher.”

Mr Battin said Ms Allan had proposed the machete laws 472 days too late.

“They could just follow the legislation that we put forward on two separate occasions in the Victorian parliament that they voted against over the last 12 months,’ he said.