Dominic Green-Scott, 20, appeared in the Ballarat Magistrates Court on Monday after pleading guilty to dishonestly receiving stolen goods, in the form of a stolen Holden Captiva.

Police prosecutor Leading Senior Constable Clint Prebble told the court on March 1 in 2017, the man made contact with offenders who had allegedly stolen a Holden Captiva on 27 February.

Green-Scott took possession of the vehicle and drove around the Ballarat CBD. He then alerted the alleged car thieves via Facebook that he had left the car near Grant Street.

The victim's vehicle was found on March 1 in bushland near Greenhill Road in Mount Helen, with a passer-by extinguishing a small fire in the car, the police prosecutor said.

Green-Scott's DNA was found in the vehicle by police. When interviewed by police officers at Loddon Prison in Castlemaine, he said he picked the stolen car up from friends in Mount Pleasant, and said he was "off his face" after consuming half a bottle of Xanax and warm VB cans.

"The accused stated he had no knowledge of the vehicle being dumped in bushland or the fire damage," Leading Senior Constable Prebble said. "But he said 'I know how to burn a car, been doing it for a long time'."

Magistrate Daniel Muling told the court that the guilty man "showed the state you were in by drinking warm VB cans".

"Once you're out and you get your own car, you won't be happy if someone decides they want to take it," Mr Muling said.

"Just think about that and what you want to do (with your life)."

Green-Scott is currently serving jail time for a County Court sentence, and will serve one month in jail for his 2017 offending concurrently with his current term.

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