A 15-year-old boy who was previously bailed more than 50 times is behind bars
One of Victoria’s worst youth offenders is being held in custody after he allegedly took part in a crime rampage across Melbourne’s southeast.
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One of the state’s worst youth offenders is back behind bars after he was accused of a four-day crime spree involving a string of break-ins and car thefts in Melbourne’s southeast.
The 15-year-old boy — who was previously bailed more than 50 times — appeared before a children’s court on Thursday where he denied involvement and a date was set for a contested hearing.
Police allege the teen and three co-accused were involved in a spate of aggravated burglaries and car thefts between February 7 and 10, targeting homes in Caulfield South, Beaumaris, Prahran, Camberwell and Malvern East.
About 4.20am on February 7, the group allegedly broke into a Caulfield South home while the residents were sleeping, stealing a BMW and a Ford.
Roughly an hour later, the youths are accused of using a doggie door to steal a BMW, Audi and Mazda from a Beaumaris home.
On February 8, the boy was allegedly in a stolen Volkswagen that crashed into a pole on a Monash Freeway off-ramp near Springvale Road just before midnight.
He was then allegedly picked up by a co-accused in another stolen car — a BMW.
The next morning, police say the group broke into a Prahran home around 5am, stealing an Audi and cash. Less than an hour later, they allegedly struck again in Camberwell, stealing a Porsche and another Audi after entering through an unlocked back door.
On February 10, the teen was allegedly involved in the theft of a Mercedes from a property in Malvern East.
A police prosecutor told the court the teen was linked to the alleged crimes through CCTV and witness footage, phone location data, and Snapchat videos showing him with the stolen vehicles.
But his lawyer said her client denied involvement, arguing identity was in dispute and the footage wasn’t clear enough to prove it was her client.
A contested hearing date was set for later this year.
The boy remains in custody and is due back in court next month.
He previously had 388 charges struck out under the doli incapax principle — a legal presumption that children aged 10 to 14 cannot be held criminally responsible unless they understood their actions were seriously wrong.
Originally published as A 15-year-old boy who was previously bailed more than 50 times is behind bars
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