Victims’ money used for eBay, McDonald’s
A CLIFTON Springs teenager used stolen bank cards to splurge on fast food and online shopping after she and her boyfriend ransacked cars on the Bellarine Peninsula.
Olivia Low was 19 when she embarked on a crime spree targeting unlocked vehicles parked outside homes in Drysdale, Clifton Springs and Ocean Grove.
Geelong Magistrates Court heard the teen was in the grips of an ice addiction at the time of the offending.
Low, now 21 and living in
Ballarat, pleaded guilty on Thursday to more than 30 charges, including theft and obtaining property by deception.
The spate of crimes took place over a five-week period in April and May 2019.
The offending involved Low and her partner driving to locations on the Bellarine Peninsula and walking along streets to find unlocked cars.
More than a dozen vehicles were entered, with the pair stealing items including wallets, sunglasses and laptops.
More than $3000 worth of property was stolen from one
victim, while another lost items valued in excess of $2500.
Low and her boyfriend also swiped several bank cards and routinely used them to spend big at stores including McDonald’s and Kmart.
The pair also made various transactions via online shopping sites such as eBay and Wish.
Their crimes eventually came to an end in May 2019, when police raided a Clifton Springs home and recovered some of the stolen property.
Defence lawyer Amanda Hurst, for Low, said her client was remorseful.
“Obviously this offending has inconvenienced a vast number of people and would’ve been very upsetting for them,” she said.
“What she wants the court to know is that she’s sorry.
“She knows she did the wrong thing.”
Ms Hurst said Low was battling an “out of control” ice addiction at the time.
She urged the court to consider sentencing Low to a community correction order.
Prosecutor Victoria McPhee said she would be calling for a jail term if it were not for Low’s young age.
“It’s serious offending and if she was older, I’d be jumping up and down saying that a term of imprisonment was warranted,” she said.
Low will be sentenced on June 1.