Wonthaggi man charged with 38 offences while on bail as crime wave grips region
Police arrested the 39-year-old at a Drysdale Street address targeting cafes, restaurants, sports clubs and places of worship including during Easter.
As a crime wave continues to grip Bass Coast and South Gippsland, a 39-year-old Wonthaggi man has been charged with 38 offences after a months-long burglary spree targeting cafes, restaurants, sports clubs and places of worship.
Bass Coast Crime Investigation Unit detectives arrested the man after executing a search warrant at a Drysdale Street address on Thursday.
The charges include 12 counts of burglary, four of attempted burglary, possession of a firearm as a prohibited person, cultivation of cannabis and multiple driving offences.
Fourteen of the charges relate to committing an indictable offence while on bail.
The man was remanded in custody to appear at the La Trobe Valley Magistrates' Court on Sunday.
Police acknowledged the impact on the community, particularly that places of worship were targeted during Easter.
The arrest caps a fortnight of brazen offending across the region.
Car thieves posted a video of themselves online joyriding in a near-new Mitsubishi Pajero Sport Exceed stolen from Wonthaggi on April 26, weaving through traffic and passing vehicles in the emergency lane at speeds exceeding 140km/h.
The car has since been recovered "completely trashed" by police and charges have been laid against one alleged offender.
The stolen vehicle is also believed to have been used in the commission of another crime.
The South Gippsland Yacht Club in Inverloch was also rammed that same week, while in Leongatha one restaurant is facing a bill of up to $50,000 after a break-in and multiple other businesses have reported significant losses.
The Leongatha Railway Station precinct, upgraded and reopened last November at a cost of more than $6 million, has also been subject to weekly vandalism, with fires lit inside the historic station building, doors kicked in, broken glass thrown into the children's playground and graffiti sprayed across the site.
A Leongatha business owner told the Sentinel-Times the pattern was clear.
"You've got people that know the system very well and are exploiting it," he said.
"They get caught, and they get bailed to do exactly the same thing."
The spate of offending has fuelled renewed criticism of Victoria's bail laws, with State Nationals leader Danny O'Brien pointing to an 18 per cent increase in crime across the South Gippsland Shire.
"People are frustrated and they have every right to be, because when Labor weakened bail laws, they sent a signal to crooks that there are no consequences," Mr O'Brien said.
State Nationals MP Melina Bath said the Coalition's Safer Communities Plan would deliver 3000 more police, 200 new Protective Services Officers and a one-strike bail rule for offenders who reoffend while on bail.
"The Allan Government is soft on crime, and it's turned Victoria's bail system into a roundabout that directs repeat criminals back on our streets time and again," Ms Bath said.
Federal Monash MP Mary Aldred also criticised the state government's approach.
"Labor has lost control of crime and only a Coalition government will ensure offenders face real consequences for their actions," Ms Aldred said.
A government spokesperson, responding on behalf of State Labor MP Tom McIntosh, said reforms were having an impact, with bail refusals at record highs and offences including burglary now declining.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
