A 14-YEAR-OLD boy in care charged with armed robberies has been granted bail after saying a night in the Warrnambool police station cells had been a wake-up call.
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"I don’t want to be in Parkville (Youth Justice Centre) or the cells," the youth, who cannot be identified because he is aged under 18 years, told a magistrate.
"I take full responsibility for my actions. I didn’t want to come to Warrnambool to offend. I just wanted to see a mate and not get in other trouble.
"I returned the Beats (headphones) to his (the victim's) older brother," he said.
A magistrate granted bail with the conditions that the youth live in Geelong residential care, not contact witnesses, obey an 8pm to 6am curfew and not attend within 50 kilometres of Warrnambool.
"This is your last chance. If you come back you'll probably going to Parkville," she said.
A police officer said in court the youth was aged 14 and lived in a Geelong residential care home.
He was previously charged with armed robbery, robbery and committing offence on bail with strict conditions to appear in a court on February 21.
The conditions included living in Geelong, obeying the instructions of McKillop Family Care staff, obeying an 8pm to 6am curfew and not attending within 50km of Warrnambool.
The police officer said that on Monday he was informed that the youth had been in an armed robbery in Geelong on January 3.
He said the youth and two other young people met with a group of boys at the Geelong railway station.
They got on a train and then got off at the Northshore station.
One of the trio walked away while another youth approached a boy and said: "There's two ways to do this - the hard way or the easy way".
He then removed a wallet from the victim's pants took and took a $50 and a $5 note as well as Beat headphones off the youth which were valued at $400.
The Warrnambool youth was standing beside the principal offender at the time.
The principal offender said: "Don’t snitch on us or I'll bash ya", a threat which was repeated by the Warrnambool 14-year-old.
The 14-year-old was then found asleep at the Warrnambool Apco service station, where he had been for about an hour mid morning on Monday.
Police officers tried to wake him up for about five minutes.
He told police he came to Warrnambool the night before on the train to see friends.
An ambulance was called and a medical check found the youth was OK.
Police also found he had a set of knuckle dusters.
The youth said: "They are just fake bro, not even real".
The solicitor submitted in court the youth should be bailed again because of his young age and vulnerability.
He said it was the first time the youth had been remanded in custody, he intended to plead guilty to the offences and spending a night in the Warrnambool police nstation cells had cause extreme distress.
He agreed the youth had breached his bail conditions a number of times.
The magistrate said she had been dealing with the youth for some time in relations to burglaries and thefts.
"He just doesn't get it. He can comply with his bail conditions or sit at Parkville," she said, adding the youth had been charged with going into people's homes while they slept to steal property.
"I'm not sure what bail conditions could be put in place, he just ignores the lot."
The magistrate said support services had been put in place to support the youth.
"Everybody has been working hard to help you, the only one not working hard is you," she told him.
"You're out and about with your mates and alleged commit this latest offence. The community, police and courts are well and truly over such behaviour. You just don’t comply with the orders I make," she said.