A Clunes man who led police on a foot chase through a number of residential properties last week has been charged with theft after a police dog was used to track him down.
Police from Daylesford and Ballarat were called in to help chase the man in Clunes on Friday, who had fled police and was running through a number of backyards in the area.
Police staked out the area while the dog squad travelled from Melbourne, which located the man within 15 minutes.
The Clunes man, aged in his late twenties, has since been charged and is alleged to have stolen thousands of dollars in equipment from two businesses in Clunes.
Police say he committed the burglaries with the aid of a 19-year-old Clunes man.
Clunes Police Leading Senior Constable Athol Chaffey said the pair stole two laptops, five mobile phones and hundreds of dollars in cash.
Both have been charged and will appear in the Ballarat Magistrates Court on May 15.
Meanwhile, two 16-year-old Delacombe boys were caught red-handed stealing a car from a Cape Clear property last night.
The pair spotted the keys in the car about 7pm last night and smashed the drivers window and drove away.
However they were spotted and chased by the owners and arrested soon after by police.
Smythesdale Police Senior Constable Craig Grenfell issued a warning to country residents to never leave keys in their car, regardless of the remoteness of their property.
The boys are expected to be charged later today.
