Youth went on crime spree in the months before and after the attempted abduction

One of the members of a gang of youths who tried to abduct a Glen Eira schoolboy was in the midst of a 10-month crime rampage involving a police chase and car thefts.

Glen Eira College student Benjamin Phikhohpoom was abducted while walking home from school in September 2023. Picture: David Caird

A youth accused of trying to abduct a schoolboy – leaving him with life-altering injuries – was in the midst of a nearly year-long crime spree ­involving a police chase and car thefts.

Glen Eira College student Benjamin Phikhohpoom suffered permanent brain damage and spent a week in a coma when a gang of youths bundled him into a stolen car before he was dragged and flung to the ground at high speed as he walked home from school in September last year.

In a children’s court on Wednesday, it was revealed a 15-year-old boy allegedly involved in the horror incident had been on a wild crime spree ­involving several car thefts and a police chase in the months before and after the attempted abduction of ­Benjamin.

About 2.15am on May 26 last year, the boy and his co-offenders were spotted outside a Coles Express on Spencer St, inside a vehicle which had stolen number plates on.

Benjamin’s alleged attacker had been on a wild crime spree ­involving several car thefts and a police chase. Picture: David Caird

The abduction left Benjamin with life-­altering injuries. Picture: 10 news

Police tracked the car, which reached speeds of up to 130km/h and was travelling in convoy with other vehicles as it drove through Melbourne’s southeast, reaching as far as the Western Port Highway.

The boy told police he did not know where the car came from, claiming a co-offender took it for a drive and it was his first time in the vehicle.

He also denied gloves he was carrying were his, claiming he’d found them inside the car.

In November last year, the boy stole a rented Mazda outside a Clyde North address, which was unlocked with the keys inside.

Number plates were taken from another vehicle in St Kilda before the boy and his three co-offenders returned to Clyde North and stole a Mercedes the following morning. The youths later filled up at a petrol station and left without paying.

The court heard a fingerprint lifted from the vehicle after it was found in Langwarrin matched with the boy.

In February this year, the boy – who was then on bail – stole another car from Langwarrin, which police again linked him to through fingerprints.

The following month, the boy was seen hopping into the back seat of a stolen car after a Youth Justice appointment.

The court heard he was arrested later that week while hiding in the bathroom of his girlfriend’s home, who he was banned from seeing as part of his bail conditions.

Appearing via video link from custody, the boy silently watched on as his lawyer told the court his client had a low IQ and was eligible for ­disability support.

He pleaded guilty to a raft of charges for the offending that spanned 10 months ­between May last year and March this year.

The court heard he is still facing more serious charges in relation to Benjamin, which were being dealt with separately.

He will return to a children’s court next week for a bail application.