Riverina teens charged with break and enter offences

Arrests have been made over a string of alleged offences in Wagga and Griffith. Photo: Chris Roe.

Three Riverina teenagers were charged this week as part of Operation Regional Mongoose targeting serious property-related crime committed by young offenders.

On Wednesday (8 January) Riverina Police District officers arrested a 17-year-old boy who was in the passenger seat of a car at the McDonalds drive-through on Glenfield Road.

He was taken to Wagga Police Station and charged with two counts of “break and enter dwelling-house etc with intent (steal), aggravated break and enter dwelling etc in company steal less than or equal to $60,000, deal with proceeds of crime less than $100,000 and two counts be carried in conveyance taken without consent of owner”.

He appeared at a Children’s Court on Thursday (9 January), where he was formally refused bail to reappear on Tuesday 18 February.

Police will allege in court he was involved in several break and enters in Forest Hill and Kooringal.

In a separate incident on Tuesday afternoon (7 January) police attended a home in Ashmont where a 14-year-old boy was arrested.

He was taken to Wagga Wagga Police Station and charged with “drive conveyance taken without consent of owner, deal with property proceeds of crime less than $100,000 and breach of a bail”.

He appeared in a Children’s Court on Wednesday (8 January ) and was formally refused bail to reappear at a Children’s’ Court on Tuesday 18 January.

Police will allege in court that the 14-year-old stole a vehicle from Griffith on Thursday 2 January.

In a third incident, last week on Thursday (2 January) police arrested a 13-year-old boy at a home in Tolland and he was taken to Wagga Wagga Police Station.

He was charged with “be carried in conveyance taken without consent of owner, deal with property proceeds of crime less than $100,000, dishonestly obtain financial advantage etc by deception and breach of bail”.

He appeared at a Children’s Court on Thursday 2 January, where he was formally refused bail to reappear on Tuesday 18 February.

Police will allege he was involved in a break and enter at a home in Griffith, where a vehicle and two bikes were allegedly stolen.