Two men accused of going on a crime spree, involving stolen cars and dodging police at more than 200kmh, will be sentenced on Friday.
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Jason Scouller, 24, and Geoffrey Wetzel, 28, pleaded guilty at the County Court in Ballarat on Monday to a range of dangerous driving, dishonesty, and theft offences.
The offending occurred within a week in July 2017, and both have been in prison since.
Scouller, with 10 charges, is accused of handling stolen goods, including a mobile phone, laptop, and number plates, and dishonestly obtaining $900 from a victim's bank account using a phone app.
He is also accused of stealing two vehicles, including one from Sebastopol used in a high speed chase between Horsham and Kaniva, near the South Australian border, and failing to stop for police.
Wetzel pleaded guilty to four charges, including dishonestly handling stolen number plates and dangerous driving, also near Kaniva.
It's alleged police radar spotted him driving through traffic at 209kmh, forcing a truck to take evasive action.
Both men were also charged with stealing petrol from services stations in Horsham, with Scouller additionally charged with stealing petrol from Sebastopol.
The court was told both men had been spotted on CCTV driving the vehicles, one stolen from Sebastopol and one from the Black Hill lookout. However neither man is accused of stealing the car from Black Hill.
The CCTV images were provided to Highway Patrol officers, and both cars were spotted on the Western Highway near Horsham on the morning of July 3, 2017.
Officers attempted to chase the cars separately but were unable to pursue without putting the public at risk - Scouller was recorded at 169kmh outside Kaniva, and made no attempt to stop for police.
Both men returned to Ballarat on July 7, where police allege Scouller stole another car - with Wetzel as passenger, they were chased by the Special Operations Group and boxed in, where the men were arrested.
Their lawyers argued both men have spent 724 days - almost two years - on remand in prison, and had used their time well, achieving TAFE certificates in community service and engineering and completing programs.
Scouller's lawyer pointed out her client had a difficult upbringing, and had moved to Victoria from Queensland to help his foster sister, but had got caught up in offending within months.
She added the threat of extradition to Queensland for prior offences had been hanging over him while he was on remand.
"He faced a lot of uncertainty regarding his time in custody, and the extradition threat, plus the lack of courses for remand prisoners - it's less serious than many matters that come before this court," she said.
Wetzel's lawyer also mentioned his difficult upbringing, but noted the support of his mother and sister in court.
"He's completed courses, his white card - the ticket for certain sites in construction - his Certificate III in engineering, and a food handling course," his lawyer said.
"He was introduced to ice as a 22-year-old and prior to finding himself in custody, he was using a gram per day - the offending occurs in the context of significant drug addiction."
It was mentioned several more serious charges had been struck out for both men.
Judge Howard Mason noted the "extraordinary risk of serious injury or death" in the police pursuits.
He will sentence both men on Friday.
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