“HIGHLY-organised” youths as young as 10 years of age have been targeting weak and vulnerable people during a series of home invasions across Mildura, a Children’s Court has been told.
Police allege a group of up to five young boys armed themselves with knives while ransacking houses in search of money while victims – including an 85-year-old woman – slept.
The court heard the boys filmed themselves driving around in a vehicle stolen during one of the aggravated burglaries and laughing, bragging and celebrating among themselves after one home invasion netted them an elderly woman’s phone, purse, money jar and a pair of underwear.
A 14-year-old boy appeared in a Children’s Court with a police prosecutor describing the offending as “out of control”, while as many as four other youths, who wore balaclavas and used torches to navigate themselves in the dark of night, remain on the loose.
The court was told the teenager and two co-accused broke into a Tenth Street address last month while a man and his wife were asleep and stole the keys to a Toyota Yaris which they drove “all over” Mildura to Buronga and Dareton while filming themselves in the car.
A police prosecutor said the 14-year-old told police that during the home invasions one of the group would keep watch on the street while others entered properties including while armed with a knife and folding tree saw.
The court heard the teenager and co-accused attempted to enter houses in Tarrango Drive late at night before gaining access to an Explorer Drive address looking for a safe.
An 85-year-old woman noticed torch lights in the rear yard and when she went to investigate she came across a person in her loungeroom also holding a torch.
Believing the person may have been her next door neighbour, the woman called out the neighbour’s name prompting the youths to flee.
CCTV footage obtained by police showed four or five people running off and later standing in the middle of the road, while the group returned to nearby Tarrango Drive where they were caught on closed circuit television removing security cameras.
Police opposed an application for the 14-year-old to be released on bail saying his parents had no control over him and the safety of the community was paramount.
The prosecutor said the youth faced “incredibly serious charges” with vulnerable members of the community targeted at night and into the early hours of the morning.
The court was told the alleged offences had been troubling within the community and the risk of the accused committing further offences if released on bail was “completely unacceptable”.
However, a magistrate said conditions of bail could reduce the risk of reoffending to an acceptable level “but time will tell”, noting the youth was “in serious trouble”.
The teenager was released on bail on conditions including that he abide by curfew, not use drugs, not associate with co-accused and abide by the directions of Youth Justice.
