Porsche, BMW, Jeep and tow truck stolen in wild alleged two-day Melbourne car theft spree
A man has been charged after an alleged two-day luxury car stealing crime spree, that ended only after a dramatic police car chase across Melbourne’s outer suburbs.
Police & Courts
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A man has been charged after an alleged two-day crime spree ended in a dramatic car chase across Melbourne’s outer suburbs.
Police will allege a Donvale man stole four vehicles over two days before leading police on a wild 25km chase on Friday.
Stop sticks allegedly failed to deter the 32-year-old before police rammed him off the road in Dandenong, with officers subduing him with pepper spray and a taser.
Police will allege the crime spree began when the man and an accomplice stole a Jeep from a home in Templestowe around 2pm on Thursday.
At around 10pm, the pair then allegedly dumped the Jeep at a car wash in South Yarra before stealing a ‘for sale’ BMW, under the pretence of taking it for a test drive.
Police will say the men returned after the Jeep was loaded onto a tow truck, carjacking the truck with the Jeep on board.
Police continued to look for the duo, before the Donvale man carjacked a Porsche from a woman in her driveway on Church Rd in Templestowe on Friday.
He was spotted driving erratically on Canterbury Rd in Blackburn around 2:30pm, where the police pursuit began.
Footage of the slow-speed chase shows the accused carjacker in a white Porsche evading police through the streets of Dandenong.
A patrol car eventually forced the vehicle off the road and into a telephone box.
“Next thing, the car was on the footpath. Wiped out the water fountain and the telephone booth and that was it,” witness John Makridis said.
“I’m just happy no one got killed.”
The Donvale man was charged with 17 counts including six of endangering emergency service workers, four of theft of a motor vehicle, and dangerous driving.
He briefly fronted court on Saturday where the court heard he suffered from depression, and was withdrawing from heroin and methamphetamines.
The matter was adjourned to Sunday, while the man’s alleged accomplice remains on the run.
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