A SERIES of thefts in Patterson Lakes overnight Sunday and Monday morning, 18-19 June, led to three houses being broken into, a luxury car’s window being smashed and another car burgled.
The dog squad and police air wing were called in to help in the hunt for the offenders.
Sergeant Nigel Fox, of Kingston CIU, said detectives were investigating possible links between the break-ins as they occurred around the same time and in neighbouring streets: Inner Harbour Drive, North Shore Drive, Gladesville Blvd and Illawong Court.
Police said the offenders may have scaled fences in the gated community, which borders Patterson River.
The side window of a Mercedes-Benz, parked in the garage of an Inner Harbour Drive property, was smashed overnight Sunday 18 June. House keys may have been stolen as the offender allegedly entered the house and stole cameras and an iPad.
When the owner went to investigate the $70,000 vehicle was missing.
The garage door of a property in Gladesville Blvd was forced open, 5-6am Monday, and a Dell laptop, three cameras, projector, cordless drill, $100 in coins and garden implements stolen.
A North Shore Drive resident in bed upstairs awoke to the sound of a sliding door downstairs being jemmied open, 6.15am Monday. She turned on the lights and heard someone running off. Nothing was stolen. Two cars in Illawong Ct was broken into a pair of sunglasses stolen around the same time.
Late on Monday, a 25-year-old Highett man was arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated burglary, theft of a motor vehicle, three counts of theft from motor vehicles, possessing a controlled weapon, two counts of possessing drugs of dependence, trafficking drugs of dependence, handling stolen goods, benefitting from the proceeds of crime and driving while disqualified.
He appeared at Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (20 June) and was remanded to appear at the same court on 17 July.
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 21 June 2017