Jake Long, 22, pleaded guilty in the Bendigo Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday to multiple charges, most of which stemmed from May 2.

On April 25, he burgled a house in Alfredton, Ballarat, stealing cigarettes, a phone and the keys to a Holden Commodore.

Long used the stolen car to commit a number of crimes on May 2.

He started the day by smashing the window of a car at 3.25am in Sebastopol, stealing a laptop bag.

At 9am, a Maryborough man noticed three of his mag wheels had been stolen from his car. Long was charged for the theft.

Later, Long got into a fight with a 56-year-old man in the car park of Maryborough IGA.

The court heard the man had taken exception to Long’s erratic driving after he almost collided with pedestrians.

During the confrontation, Long punched the man in the mouth and nose, then threw him to the ground, causing facial injuries. Long fled the scene in the stolen Commodore.

Police noticed him driving erratically at 12.24pm. He sped away when they attempted to pull him over.

At 2.30pm, police spotted Long’s car wedged against a gate in front of a driveway in Maryborough. He was asleep behind the wheel, and attempted to start the car when he was woken by police.

Officers smashed a window to remove the keys from the ignition.

A search of the car uncovered the stolen mags and laptop bag.

In a police interview, Long admitted to using ice. He returned a positive reading.

He was also charged with stealing a homemade trailer from in front of a Maryborough address, the theft of number plates, and the theft of alcohol from liquor stores.

On May 1, he stole $67 worth of petrol from a petrol station.

The court heard Long has nine pages of criminal history.

Magistrate John Doherty said it was his last chance to get his life back on track.

“You’ve got to make your own choices,” he said.

“If you keep doing drugs and knocking around with people who have been to jail, you’ll be going to jail.

“Once you go to jail, you’ll just keep going back. There’s your life, in front of you.”

Long was convicted and  placed on a 12-month community corrections order with 200 hours of unpaid community work.

He was fined $750 and his licence was canceled for six months.