Teen, 16, fronts court over alleged Brighton East home invasion

The second teen to be charged over an alleged aggravated burglary in Brighton East – that was thwarted by a loyal family dog – has fronted a children’s court.

A teenager has fronted court charged over an alleged aggravated burglary in Brighton East that was thwarted by a loyal family dog. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

A teenager has fronted court charged over an alleged aggravated burglary in Brighton East that was thwarted by a loyal family dog earlier this week.

The 16-year-old boy who cannot be named appeared in a children’s court on Friday facing eight charges, including aggravated burglary, home invasion with a machete and three counts of motor vehicle theft.

No details about the alleged crimes were aired during the brief administrative hearing.

Police allege two machete-wielding teenagers gained entry to a Warleigh Grove residence on Tuesday just after 7.30am.

Several residents including Annabel Thomson and her sister’s partner, Todd Blasse, were asleep inside the property at the time.

Continuous barking from the family’s beloved pooch Austin eventually alerted them to the intruders as they searched through personal belongings in the lounge room.

“I saw this guy standing at the door inside, I saw him holding something and thought it was a bat,” Ms Thomson said.

“We walked into the lounge and stopped and realised what the hell was going on.

“It was a bit hectic.”

Annabel Thomson’s dog, Austin, alerted them to the intruders. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Mr Blasse gave chase to the pair, who made a haste exit from the scene in an allegedly stolen blue Subaru Outback.

CCTV also captured the moment two masked men, alleged to be the same teens, attempted to break into a neighbour’s home just moments earlier.

The chilling clip taken from a nearby Warleigh Grove address, shows two men dressed in black, wearing gloves and face coverings.

Charge sheets reveal the 16-year-old is accused of stealing a $150k Range Rover and $90k BMW in Brighton on Tuesday.

Police allege he stole a $15k Lexus in Caulfield North on Thursday before he was arrested later that day.

His lawyer told Friday’s hearing his client had an intellectual disability.

He made no application for bail and was remanded in custody to reappear in court on June 30.

It comes a day after Bob Jal, 18, fronted Melbourne Magistrates’ Court charged with 23 offences, including two counts of trespassing with a machete at Malvern East on Monday and Brighton on Tuesday.

Charge sheets reveal Mr Jal is accused of stealing four cars across Malvern and Brighton, and attempting to steal a fifth car in Dandenong, over just two days.

The vehicles included the $150k Range Rover, as well as a $50k Toyota HiLux ute, a $40k Subaru and a $7500 Land Rover.

Mr Jal, from Doveton, was hunted down by detectives after he allegedly entered the Warleigh Grove home on Tuesday morning alongside the 16-year-old boy.

Annabel Thomson and her sister’s partner Todd Blasse stand where the intruders were found. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

The 18-year-old was known to police over a series of other alleged incidents in the Brighton and Malvern areas between May 5-6.

On May 7, he is alleged to have stolen a white Toyota HiLux from Fisher St in Malvern East about 10.30am before driving the ute to Dandenong.

There, police have alleged he tried to carjack a woman sitting at a red light on James St just before 1pm.

Police have alleged he was unsuccessful and returned to the HiLux, but was pursued by police – including by the Air wing – and arrested a short time later in his home suburb of Doveton.

He has been charged with committing as many as nine indictable offences while on bail.

His charges also include two counts of aggravated burglary with a weapon, five counts of motor vehicle theft, unlawful assault and driving dangerously while being pursued by police.

These latest charges continue the trend of teenagers from the southeast descending on Melbourne’s affluent suburbs allegedly in search of luxury cars.

A 17-year-old teenager was also charged with aggravated burglary and two counts of motor vehicle theft over unrelated incidents in Kew and Glen Iris, also between May 5-7.

Both arrests come as a result of Victoria Police’s renewed response to youth-driven car theft, which has increased “markedly” since the pandemic, police said on Thursday morning.

Police have made 190 arrests in relation to car theft and burglaries in the past 11 weeks alone.

Mr Jal did not apply for bail.

He was remanded in custody and ordered to return to court on August 30.