A 16-year-old in the grip of a $1200-a-day ice addiction left a half-eaten sausage roll at the scene of one of his six alleged burglaries, a court has heard.
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The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, allegedly raided six homes and stole three cars in just over a week to fund “a significant drug addiction”, a police informant told a Children’s Court.
The teenager, released from youth detention in February, was arrested with a swag of allegedly stolen goods at an associate’s home on March 13.
The court heard the associate told police he knew the alleged items were stolen and the boy had been bringing them for a number of weeks.
The boy, charged with a number of offences including aggravated burglary, burglary, theft, three thefts of and from a motor vehicle and resist police, appeared at a Children’s Court for a bail application.
The police prosecutor told the court the boy and his co-accused left a half-eaten sausage roll at one of the alleged burglaries on March 12.
She alleged the sausage roll matched items purchased from a service station with a credit card stolen from a previous burglary.
Almost $10,000 in electrical goods was stolen during one alleged burglary on March 7, while the teenager is accused of taking cash and power tools during other home invasions.
The police prosecutor said when interviewed on March 13, the boy was upset and seemingly withdrawing from drugs.
She told the court a friend had told her the boy was using $1200 of ice per day.
Police opposed the boy’s bail, alleging he drove while substance affected and posed a considerable danger to the community because of his ongoing drug use.
The boy’s lawyer said he was in desperate need of drug treatment, which he would not receive in custody. She proposed the boy live with his parents, who she said were both devastated by his appearance when he fronted court last week.
In refusing the boy’s bail, the Magistrate said the teenager posed an unacceptable risk to the community if released.
“I’m not satisfied that without intense support, probably through a residential program, that he would be likely to succeed when withdrawing off drugs,” he said.