Man denied bail after alleged aggravated burglary in Bendigo

Jamie Leigh Page, 30, applied for bail in the Bendigo Magistrates' Court on Friday after he was charged with 12 offences including aggravated burglary.

His application was denied for a second time on the grounds he did not meet exceptional circumstances and he was an unacceptable risk.

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The court heard sometime between December 5 and December 14, 2019, a blue Holden Barina was stolen from a Melbourne address.

Police alleged about 4.50pm on March 7, officers saw Mr Page driving the stolen vehicle in the White Hills area.

He was allegedly driving at 72km/h in a 60km/h zone. The court heard police activated lights and sirens but Mr Page allegedly accelerated away.

The 30-year-old does not hold a driver's licence.

Sometime between 6pm on March 7 and 5.45am on March 8, Mr Page allegedly stole registration plates from a Subaru parked at a Strathdale address.

Police alleged about 5.45am on March 8, Mr Page broke into a white Nissan Navara ute that was parked outside a Jackass Flat address.

Mr Page allegedly left with the keys to the vehicle and several tools.

The court heard Mr Page went to another address about 50 metres down the road and allegedly broke into a white Toyota Hilux ute.

Mr Page allegedly stole Apple AirPods and tools from the vehicle.

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The 30-year-old then allegedly entered the property's garage where he broke into a station wagon.

Police alleged he stole a wallet that contained credit cards before entering the property via a door in the garage.

The court heard the victim woke to the sound of a door opening. The resident got out of their bed and allegedly saw Mr Page coming through the door.

Police alleged Mr Page fled and exited via the garage, before getting into the Holden Barina and leaving the scene.

The court heard about 10.55am that day, police were patrolling the Kennington area.

Officers spotted the Holden Barina and pulled up alongside the vehicle to see Mr Page allegedly driving. The court heard Mr Page allegedly sped off to avoid arrest.

Police located the Holden Barina outside a Kennington address about 11.15am.

Mr Page was allegedly at the property but jumped a fence and got into the Barina before leaving the scene.

Police searched the property and allegedly found the stolen goods.

The court heard police returned to the Kennington address at 2pm that day. They allegedly found Mr Page sitting in the Holden Barina parked outside of the address.

He was taken to hospital under police guard to receive treatment for an injured ankle.

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Mr Page was taken to the Bendigo Police Station for an interview later that evening. He admitted to stealing the registration plates but made no comments about the rest of the allegations.

The court heard Mr Page then requested a second police interview where he admitted to entering the Jackass Flat property.

Mr Page was on a community corrections order at the time of the alleged offending.

Informant Detective Senior Constable Jessie Uren told the court the victim of the alleged aggravated burglary was still "shaken up" from the alleged incident and wanted to move out of the property.

The informant told the court Mr Page should not be granted bail because the aggravated burglary and unlicensed driving charges showed he was an "extensive" risk to the community.

Defence lawyer Glenn Cooper told the court Mr Page was eligible for the Court Integrated Services Program.

Mr Cooper said while his client had previously been noncompliant with community correction orders, he had done well on CISP bail.

The defence lawyer said Mr Page would be willing to follow bail conditions including weekly drug screens, a curfew, and an exclusion order for Bendigo.

Mr Cooper said his client would be able to live with his sister in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne.

Senior Detective Uren said that address was unsuitable because Mr Page's sister also had convictions for drugs and dishonesty offences.

Magistrate Russell Kelly said Mr Page's charges were "very serious" and his criminal history was "lengthy".

Mr Kelly said it was possible Mr Page could receive a significant jail term if found guilty of the alleged offences.

The magistrate refused Mr Page's bail application. The 30-year-old was remanded in custody and is due to return to court in May.

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