Brody Harris, 22, pleaded guilty at the Ballarat Magistrates' Court on Tuesday to 36 charges relating to offending committed from October 2019 to June 2020.

Police prosecutor Senior Constable Ben Jones said the offending before the court began in October 2019 when Harris smashed the window to a car in the Sebastopol Coles car park.

He is charged with driving a stolen car from New South Wales to Victoria and leaving it in the same car park.

The court heard Harris was linked to a car stolen from Mount Helen on November 7, 2019 that was later found destroyed by fire in Cambrian Hill 12 days later.

He was seen driving both a $120,000 black Range Rover and a grey Mazda that were both stolen on November 8, 2019.

He stole number plates, a car, two motorbikes and power tools from a Haddon property and was arrested on November 19 after fleeing from police in a stolen car from Lake Burrumbeet.

Harris was bailed and is charged with breaching his bail curfew by not being home at 3am in May and ransacking through unlocked cars in Gordon.

On May 18, 2020 he was seen driving a Mazda stolen from Canadian using keys taken stolen from inside the house.

The court heard he sped away from police at more than 100km/h including through a 40kmh road work zone.

Harris is charged with ransacking an unlocked car in Lucas on May 19, stealing the garage door remote from the car and committing a number of petrol drive-offs.

He was seen as a passenger in a stolen car with co-accused Corey Blazevicious.

Police found Harris' DNA on a toothbrush left inside another stolen car left parked at Nazareth House, which also contained DNA of co-accused Jarrod Cakebread.

CCTV footage showed Harris driving another car stolen with stolen number plates from Creswick to a Mitchell Park petrol station and meeting up with Shannon Jeffrey who drove another stolen car.

One stolen car with stolen plates Harris was linked to was found on fire.

Harris was arrested while driving a stolen car on June 5, 2020 by a special operations crew in Thomastown.

Police found methamphetamine in his wallet, a number of items suspected to be proceeds of crime and a 0.22 calibre rifle with a round in the chamber within easy reach of the driver's seat.

Defence lawyer Kristen Mavor said Harris had served a total of 464 days in pre-sentence detention and was also on remand for a County Court matter.

She said Harris' bad choices and drug use started when he finished school in Year 8 and his parents separated.

Ms Mavor said Harris had spent seven of the last nine years in custody and was transient and sleeping on people's couches when he was out of custody.

She said he had a three-year-old daughter his mother cared for full-time.

The court heard Harris' father was currently in custody and his mother was supportive but he fell back in with 'bad crowds' and drug use when he was released from prison.

"He has a lengthy criminal history," Ms Mavour said.

"All of it turns to his long standing substance issues as well as his dysfunctional upbringing."

The court heard Harris had found prison difficult during the pandemic and it had been his longest time on remand in adult custody.

Magistrate Ron Saines said he needed time to consider sentencing and work out how many cars were stolen.

Harris will return to court for sentencing in late April.

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