A 14-year-old who wanted to build his "street cred" by allegedly stealing cars has been given a stern warning from a magistrate on the perils of a criminal lifestyle.
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The boy appeared in a children's court charged with multiple counts of burglary and theft, after being arrested and held in custody on Wednesday.
A court heard on July 3, at about 1am, the boy and an associate allegedly snuck into a property in Ballarat's west and waited until the it residents went to sleep.
The 14-year-old then allegedly broke into the property through the garage and into the kitchen, taking keys for an Audi and a Suzuki Swift.
Police allege the pair then made off with the cars, parked at the address, and drove around Ballarat for a short while after.
The Suzuki Swift was found dumped in Magpie.
On July 12, the 14-year-old and another associate allegedly broke into a house in a Ballarat suburb by kicking down the rear laundry door.
Once inside, the pair were alleged to have rifled through the occupants' belongings, taking car keys and jewellery.
After leaving, the pair allegedly broke into another house in the area, entering through an unlocked window, and took a Kathmandu jacket, bank card and hammer.
The pair then allegedly broke into a third house, taking taking the keys to a Holden Commodore station wagon and making off with the car.
Police alleged the teens then drove the car to an outer Ballarat suburb and started to do burnouts.
The 14-year-old allegedly lost control of the car, which got stuck on a nature strip.
Later in the night the pair allegedly left the stuck station wagon, and entered a house nearby, attempting to steal a Toyota Land Cruiser.
A resident at the house was alerted to the teens inside their garage by CCTV cameras and called the police.
When police arrived the pair ran off into a neighbouring paddock, where they were arrested.
At the time of the offending the 14-year-old was on two counts of bail for similar offending.
A detective senior constable with the Ballarat Crime Investigation Unit told a court the boy had 20 charges pending for offences committed over the past three weeks.
The detective said the boy showed "no remorse" for the offending, and told police that he would "continue to commit offences to build his street cred".
A court heard the boy had been diagnosed with ADHD, and an intellectual disability.
Magistrate Simon Zebrowski said stealing cars, and then hooning in them, was "high risk" offending, and had to balance public safety with the boy's rehabilitation.
"This kid is 14, he wouldn't know a steering wheel from a hub cap, and here he steals a car and goes hooning around," the magistrate said.
"This is high risk offending ... it is the sort of stuff that ends up killing people, and nobody thinks that will happen to them until it happens to them."
The magistrate also warned the boy about continued reoffending.
"Name me one successful gangster crook. You know where they are? They are either dead or doing 30 years in jail," the magistrate said.
"Your liberty is now back in your own hands, it is up to you on whether you go back in there (custody), or stay out."
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