Two alleged car thieves in regional Victoria have been charged with more than 60 offences between them, after they were allegedly involved in more than 20 incidents between April 29 and May 28, 2025.
Victoria Police alleges the incidents occurred across multiple suburbs in the Bendigo region, including Castlemaine, Epsom, Flora Hill, Ironbark, Jackass Flat, Junortoun, Kangaroo Flat, Kennington, North Bendigo, and White Hills.
Police executed four search warrants on May 28 at addresses in California Gully, Bendigo, North Bendigo and Kangaroo Flat, and allegedly seized “multiple items of interest” including a stolen Subaru, a Holden Colorado, stolen credit cards, tools connected to alleged car thefts, and an imitation firearm.
The investigation remains ongoing, though police detailed the pair’s spate of offences.
That included the theft of two Toyota Corollas in Kennington on May 1, with one found burnt out a short time later.
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A Toyota RAV4 stolen and crashed in an unrelated offence
On May 13, six cars were allegedly broken into at a Bendigo university car park, while on May 16 a Toyota RAV4 containing more than $12,000 worth of personal items and camping gear was allegedly stolen near a hospital.
This vehicle, too, was later found burnt out.
A car’s on-board diagnostics system was also alleged to have been tampered with at a Castlemaine car dealership.
A 21-year-old Bendigo man was arrested and charged with 43 offences, including theft from a motor vehicle, theft of a motor vehicle, attempted theft from a motor vehicle, criminal damage and criminal damage by fire.
Other alleged offences included committing an indictable offence while on bail, contravening conditions of bail, and a prohibited person possessing a firearm. He was remanded to appear at Bendigo Magistrates Court at a later date.
A burnt out car in Queensland.
A 20-year-old Bendigo man is facing 22 charges. These include similar theft and criminal damage offences, as well as obtaining property by deception and driving unlicensed.
He’s also in custody and is appearing at Bendigo Magistrates Court today.
“This type of alleged offending causes real harm to victims and impacts people just going about their daily lives,” said Western Region Division Five investigation and response manager Detective Inspector Dan Davison.
“We’ve worked methodically to piece this together, and the arrests are the result of some solid detective work.
“The community can be assured we’re doing everything we can to hold those responsible to account.
“We hope these arrests send a strong message and put a stop to the recent spate of vehicle-related offences we’ve seen across Bendigo & surrounding areas of the community.”
