Southern Metro Region Crime Squad detectives have charged a second teenager after an aggravated burglary in Brighton East this week.
Police have been told that two male offenders, armed with machetes, allegedly entered a residence on Warleigh Grove on Tuesday, 6 June about 7.40am.
Seven occupants were home and asleep at the time when they were awoken by their dog barking.
One occupant chased the pair out of the residence, where they got into an allegedly stolen blue Subaru Outback.
An 18-year-old Doveton man was arrested yesterday and charged in relation to this aggravated burglary and numerous other offences.
Today, after executing a search warrant at a Peach Court address, a 16-year-old Doveton teenager was charged with:
• attempted aggravated burglary
• home invasion with an offensive weapon
• home invasion
• aggravated burglary
• 3 x theft of a motor vehicle
• handle stolen goods.
These charges also relate to other alleged aggravated burglaries in the Brighton and Caulfield areas, between 6-8 June.
He has been remanded to appear at a children's court at a later date.
These recent arrests are the result of a dedicated city-wide operation in place targeting aggravated burglaries and associated car thefts, which increased markedly post the pandemic.
This has been driven by predominantly youth offenders targeting unlocked homes, with the intention of stealing car keys.
Local police from Southern Metro, North West Metro and inner eastern Melbourne are teaming up as part of the ongoing metropolitan wide operation.
Specialist police units, including Air Wing, Dog Squad, and Public Order Response Team, also assist on a nightly basis in tracking the movements of offenders.
Over the past eleven weeks this bolstered nightly police response has led to 693 arrests including 190 in relation to burglaries and car thefts while the remainder relate to drug and other miscellaneous offending.
