A 26-year-old man has been arrested in country Victoria following a string of serious offences committed in a 24-hour crime spree across Melbourne.
The first incident occurred in Carlton North at 7.15pm on Friday 18 October when the man allegedly entered a home on Drummond Street and stole a mobile phone and the 26-year-old female victim’s car keys.
When the victim’s car wouldn’t start the man then allegedly attempted to carjack a vehicle on Weston Street in Brunswick.
The 31-year-old man of the carjacking refused to hand over his vehicle and sustained two non-life threatening stab wounds in the altercation.
At 8.12pm the man allegedly stopped another victim on the street in Brunswick and demanded that he hand over his wallet and mobile phone.
When the 40-year-old Brunswick man refused, he was allegedly stabbed, sustaining minor injuries to his hand and body.
Minutes later the man allegedly carjacked a 24-year-old Taylors Hill man on Royal Parade by threatening the driver with a knife.
At 11pm that night the man was seen driving the stolen car in Edithvale before crashing into a street sign and running from the scene.
Thirty minutes later the man allegedly committed an aggravated burglary at a home on Carrington Street in Edithvale where he stole a wallet and the keys to the victim’s car.
At approximately 1.50am on Saturday morning the man entered a service station on Springvale Road where he used a credit car belonging to the Carrington Street victim to purchase fuel and cigarettes.
At 2.30am on the same morning, the man, still driving the stolen car from Carrington Street, was involved in a collision on the Western Highway near Ararat where he allegedly failed to stop.
He was eventually intercepted and arrested on the Western Highway at Gerang Gerang.
Yarra Crime Investigation Unit detectives have charged the Murtoa man with aggravated carjacking, armed robbery, theft of motor car, intentionally cause injury, aggravated burglary and a number of traffic offences.
He has been remanded to appear at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court later this morning.
