Five teenagers have been charged after an alleged robbery spree targeting supermarkets across metropolitan Melbourne on Monday, August 18.
The group were allegedly armed with machetes and entered multiple supermarkets in Officer, Preston and Epping, leaving with stolen cash and cigarettes from two premises between about 12.20pm and 1.50pm, using an allegedly stolen Subaru Forester.
Officers spotted the Subaru Forester on Edgars Road in Wollert a short time later before pursuing the car through Epping, Thomastown, Rosanna and Heidelberg, before the car collided with two vehicles at the intersection of Manningham and Bulleen road in Bulleen, police said.
The five occupants of the vehicle allegedly fled on foot and were arrested nearby.
The five boys aged 14 to 17 from Dandenong, Casey, and Cardinia have been charged with multiple offences, including theft of a motor vehicle, handling stolen goods, three counts of armed robbery, and two counts of attempted armed robbery.
One of the teens also faced charges of negligent and unlicensed driving. Four were remanded, while the 14-year-old was bailed to appear at a children’s court.
The Subaru was allegedly stolen during an aggravated burglary in Wheelers Hill on August 7.
