Suburbs Under Siege: Teen thugs pinch presents in horror Christmas Day home invasion at Deer Park
A Deer Park family was left traumatised after three teen thugs broke into their home on Christmas morning and stole not only a car — but their presents.
Police & Courts
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A family from Melbourne’s west say Christmas will “forever be tarnished” after three teenage Grinches stole presents from under their tree in a terrifying home invasion.
One of the teens, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had been on probation for only a week when he traumatised the family of seven on Christmas morning last year.
The 16-year-old boy fronted a children’s court in late March where fresh details of his offending were revealed after he admitted to the home invasion, car thefts and a police chase where he clocked “ridiculous” speeds of up to 200km/h.
The court heard the teen and his co-accused, aged 16 and 17, snuck into the Deer Park home via a roller door – which was accidentally left open – about 2.45am on December 25 while four adults and three children were sleeping.
Prosecutor Brook Aknaw told the court they rummaged through the garage and the house, including one of the victim’s bedrooms as they laid mere metres away.
In under six minutes, they managed to pinch the wrapped Christmas presents, a wallet and a grey Honda, which was later dumped 16km away in Tarneit.
Charge sheets reveal one of the presents was a Deal or No Deal board game.
In a victim impact statement, one of the family members said they no longer felt safe in their own home and have experienced “countless sleepless nights”.
“Christmas Day will forever be tarnished … the fact that we were robbed and had our gifts stolen from under the Christmas tree, from our children,” they wrote.
“I spent multiple days distressed and crying, blaming myself for what had happened, which is unfair because why should intruders be coming in and stealing presents from under the Christmas tree on Christmas Day?”
The boy was placed on probation for a second time on January 24, but by February 4 had taken a stolen grey Skoda and a stolen white Volvo for back-to-back joy rides.
Six other teenagers were allegedly passengers in the cars when he was clocked by the Air Wing travelling at fast speeds through red lights and on the wrong side of the road across suburbs including Manor Lakes, Werribee, Yarraville, Brooklyn and Point Cook.
He crashed the Volvo into a tree on Wisdom Ave in Truganina about 12.30am before he was arrested trying to flee on foot.
A 1m-long machete was found inside one of the cars after the group was arrested.
Magistrate Shiva Pillai described the speeds as “reckless” and “ridiculous”, especially given he was clocked at 170km/h driving through roadworks on the West Gate Freeway.
“There are people working there,” he said.
The court previously heard the wayward youth, who was bailed on February 19, has racked up 95 charges since 2023.
He pleaded guilty on Tuesday to home invasion, theft of a motor vehicle, reckless conduct endangering life and dangerous driving while pursued by police, among other offences.
His defence lawyer Bernard Pretty argued his client should be sentenced to a youth supervision order, conceding probation was no longer on the table.
But Mr Pillai said he wanted the boy assessed for a stricter youth attendance order before handing down his sentence.
“We want to make sure the sentence fits … the offending and his ability as well,” he said.
“He has to show and demonstrate that he’s capable of engaging with an order.”
The teen sat behind his lawyer, looking down at the floor for the majority of the hearing.
He will return to court on April 15 after the return of a pre-sentence report.
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