A teenager on a learner drivers licence allegedly drove a mocked-up emergency truck around Melbourne for months, speeding through a major tunnel on one occasion as its lights flashed and sirens blared.
He is also accused of fraudulently taking out an insurance policy, falsely claiming he was burgled and using the proceeds of insurance fraud to rent an office suite.
The boy, who was 16 at the time of his arrest, is facing 120 charges allegedly committed over several months in 2017, including posing as an emergency vehicle driver around Melbourne’s southern suburbs. He is also accused of falsely reporting crimes and using digitally altered credit card details to buy emergency sirens and lights worth more than $4,000.
The teenager’s case came before a children’s court on Wednesday and the extent of the allegations was revealed in charge sheets.
“It’s big. There is a lot of evidence to have to look at,” the magistrate said, before adjourning the case.
The boy was arrested in October after dashcam footage surfaced online showing a modified truck driving in the Bayside area with its lights flashing and siren sounding.
A police officer demonstrated the truck to the media after the arrest, activating the siren with a hand-held remote control.
The teenager reportedly responded to a number of traffic accidents over that time in the kitted-out truck, allegedly worth about $100,000 after the modifications.
It is alleged the boy once drove at 121km/h through the busy Burnley tunnel in September while “acting as an emergency vehicle”, placing people in danger. He allegedly later presented a document to a traffic camera officer that falsely claimed he was exempt from a speeding fine, charge sheets allege.
The boy is accused of a number of deception offences, including using fraudulent details to take out an insurance policy and sign a lease for an office suite.
It is alleged he used the insurance policy to falsely claim more than $40,000 in equipment and cash had been burgled and used the proceeds of insurance fraud to pay rent on the office.
The boy is due to return to court on 5 September for a contest mention.