The 16-year-old appeared in a Children's Court where he pleaded guilty to 14 charges including theft and assault with a weapon.

The court heard on December 16 last year, a Ford Ranger was parked in a driveway in Rowan Street, Bendigo. The vehicle was left unlocked and the key was still in the ignition.

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Sometime between 7.30pm that night and 6.30am on December 17, the teen entered the car and drove it away.

Police found the car in Epsom on December 18. It had been damaged and the registration plates were missing.

The court heard on January 27, the teen and two other unknown offenders broke into a storage container at the White Hills Primary School.

They were captured on CCTV footage stealing a generator and a tool box.

Then on February 14 this year, the teen went to an address in Strathdale where a Mitsubishi Mirage was parked.

The boy looked through the vehicle but didn't take any items. Detectives located his fingerprints inside the car.

The teen then broke into a Ford Territory parked at a North Bendigo address in the early hours of February 16. He stole a wooden box containing $40 in cash.

The court heard he also gained entry to a Mazda that was parked a few doors down and stole two purses valued at $100.

The teen attempted to break into two Isuzu utes at a property in West Bendigo on February 25 but was unsuccessful.

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Police arrested the boy on February 26. He provided a no-comment interview to police.

The teen also pleaded guilty to stealing petrol from a Strathdale service station and assaulting a worker in the Bendigo Marketplace.

The boy's defence lawyer told the court her client had been in youth detention since his arrest.

She said it had been particularly onerous for the boy and he did not want to return there.

The lawyer said the teen's pattern of criminal behaviour had been interrupted with his time in custody and he would obey any bail conditions.

The police prosecutor said the offences were "extremely serious" and the teen had shown a "complete disregard for the community".

The prosecutor submitted the boy should receive a conviction.

The magistrate ordered a pre-sentence youth justice report and granted the teen bail ahead of his sentencing.

The boy is due to return to court in May.

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