Two men went on a fortnight-long spree of driving and property crimes in the Rochester and Echuca districts, the County Court has been told.
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Kurtis Michael Anderson, 23, and Joshua Aaron Colliver, 30, faced the court by video link on Thursday.
They each pleaded guilty to a series of drug, driving, firearm and theft offences. Mr Colliver also admitted to a charge of arson.
The most serious offence, the court was told, was the theft of three firearms from a farm in the Rochester area on July 7, 2020.
The men also took a ute carrying a wallet, several tools and a butcher's knife.
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Three days later, Mr Anderson crashed the ute into a tree after losing control on Lowe Road at Rochester and suffered minor injuries.
The court was told that in the hours after the accident, Mr Colliver set the ute on fire in a bid to help Mr Anderson, who had bled inside the vehicle.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, the ute's owner said he and his family were deeply shaken by the theft, which was the fourth to affect their farm in four years.
"I owed these men nothing," the owner wrote, saying they were angry and now suspicious of anyone moving near their property.
Mr Anderson and Mr Colliver used cards from the man's wallet to make several purchases and bank withdrawals in the days after the theft.
The men were arrested on July 17 when police raided a property at Rushworth, where they were living. The firearms were recovered at the scene.
Judge Irene Lawson noted that she had dealt with Mr Anderson for previous offending, and that he had "failed spectacularly" to take advantage of opportunities to address the links between his drug use and offending.
"He's just thumbed his nose at all of this," Judge Lawson said. "This man does not need firearms."
His lawyer, Jarrod Van Arkadie, noted that Mr Anderson continued to struggle with the death of his father at a young age, but that he came before the court "with his tail between his legs".
Mr Colliver had a less extensive criminal history, the court was told, but had been using the drug ice regularly at the time of the offending. Judge Lawson described Mr Colliver's decision to set fire to the ute as "inexplicable".
His lawyer, Nicholas Rolfe, said Mr Colliver had strong family support and employment opportunities after being released from custody.
The men are due to be sentenced on March 9.
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