A teenager who threatened to kill his friend after he mistakenly thought he stole a bag of drugs and cash has been granted probation in a Childrens' Court.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The 19-year-old, who was 17 at the time of the offending and cannot be named, pleaded guilty to home invasion, false imprisonment, threats to kill, possessing cocaine and criminal damage.
The teenager, his co-accused and the victim had been driving around in a BMW on December 18 when they lost a bag containing more than $4,000 cash and $4,200 worth of cocaine.
The court heard the teen messaged the victim on Snapchat that evening accusing him of stealing the bag.
The lost bag was handed in to a police station the following morning at 9.45am after it was found by a community member.
It was 15 minutes later the teen and his co-accused, a man around five years his senior, arrived at the victim's house.
Gaining entry to the home after finding a hidden key, they woke the victim, and the three then travelled in the victim's car to the parked BMW.
The court heard when the BMW was searched and the bag could not be found, the teen punched the victim 15 to 20 times asking, "where's the money".
The victim was taken to hospital with injuries including to the head and ribs upon returning home.
IN THE NEWS:
The police prosecutor told the court of the impact the incident had on the victim.
"Due to the stress and trauma of the incident the victim has now relocated to Western Australia," the prosecutor said.
The defence for the teen said the charges were "troubling", and noted the accused knew the victim.
"The most [serious] of which is the home invasion," the defence said.
"It wasn't a home invasion in the sense that, 'there's a house, we'll invade it'."
The court heard the teenager now had stable employment, strong family support, no prior criminal history and did not currently have a problem with cocaine.
He was handed 12 months probation with drug and alcohol conditions, and without conviction.
The magistrate spoke directly to the teen in court in their closing remarks.
"I'm sure you thought, 'I can't believe I involved myself in something so awful'," the magistrate said.
"Absolutely," the teen responded.
If you are seeing this message you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Courier, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you very much for your support and allowing us to continue telling Ballarat's story. We appreciate your support of journalism in our great city.
