A Ballarat man who had his car stolen used the Find My iPhone app to chase down the thief and arrest the 19-year-old himself, a court has heard.
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The thief, Wade Turner, was asleep in the back seat of the stolen Ford Ranger near St George's Lake in Creswick when the owner tracked him down, the Ballarat Magistrates' Court heard on Tuesday.
Woken by a torch light, Turner attempted to start the car before the owner used his spare key to open the door, grabbed Turner from the car and restrained him until police arrived.
The Ford Ranger had been stolen seven hours earlier from Victoria Park in Ballarat.
The court heard drug paraphernalia, a pocket knife and keys to another stolen car were found inside the Ranger.
Turner appeared in court via videolink where he pleaded guilty to the theft, in addition to the theft of another five cars from across the region between April and November.
The court heard during one of the thefts Turner was seen driving a stolen car on footpaths in Wendouree before driving into a parked car with children inside and leaving the scene.
The car was found two days later burnt out on Bald Hills Road, Creswick.
On another occasion Turner, and a 16-year-old co-accused, stole a 1984 Ford Laser from a Castlemaine Road, Creswick address which was later found abandoned in Invermay with ice pipes and the drug ice inside.
Turner's lawyer, Wendy Duncan, told the court her client had taken full responsibility for the offending.
"He had firmly instructed he knows what he has done is wrong and doesn't want me or anyone else making excuses for him," she said.
She went on to tell the court Turner had been homeless since an early age, had scant contact with meaningful people in his life and often used drugs to cope with those factors.
She added Turner was realistic and knew there was a chance he wouldn't be able to comply with a community corrections order.
Ms Duncan urged the magistrate to instead consider placing Turner into a Youth Justice Centre with a long parole period to allow him a better opportunity to reestablish himself into the community and gain an apprenticeship he is yearning for.
Magistrate Gregory Robinson adjourned sentencing until Thursday to allow Turner to be assessed for a Youth Justice Centre.
Turner has so far spent 42 days on remand.
