Shepparton police were involved in a police hunt across two states that involved multiple allegedly stolen cars on Thursday, May 16.
Police said Shepparton Crime Investigation Unit Detectives went to Echuca on Thursday morning to try and arrest a person who had allegedly broken into a Shepparton business and stolen a silver Holden Commodore in Shepparton on Monday, May 13.
The following day, police tried to pull over the Commodore in Echuca, but the driver allegedly took off on them.
The car was found in Echuca within days of its theft.
Shepparton detectives headed to Echuca to work with police from there on Thursday with a plan to arrest the person who allegedly stole the vehicle, police said.
Just before police arrival, the man they were looking for allegedly stole a bike from the doorstep of an Echuca home, police said.
The people at that house saw a man allegedly take the bike and followed him.
He then went into a Hovell St, Echuca, business about 9am and allegedly stole a Ford Courier ute, police said.
After about an hour of looking for the Ford Courier, police found it abandoned at a business in McMillan Rd, Echuca.
The man then allegedly stole a white Ford Territory from that location, police said.
He was then allegedly involved in several police evades, including one where he allegedly drove up the wrong side of a busy Ogilvie Ave in Echuca into the path of oncoming traffic, about 11.30am, police said.
He also went into an Echuca business and allegedly tried to steal the number plates off a vehicle but was disturbed by the owner..
Despite a strong police presence at the two bridges between Echuca and Moama throughout much of the morning, the man managed to slip across one of the bridges and into NSW.
The Ford Territory was later found abandoned at Cummeragunja ‒ just outside Barmah on the NSW side of the state border.
NSW police and special constables from Shepparton and Echuca arrested a 29-year-old Shepparton man in a house at Cummeragunja.
The man was taken into custody in Deniliquin, with Victorian police successfully applying to have him extradited from NSW to Victoria on Friday morning.
The man has been charged with charges including two counts of burglary, three counts of theft of a vehicle, two counts of failing to stop on police direction, failing to stop while pursued by police, unlicensed driving, theft of a bicycle, dangerous driving while pursued by police, and theft from a vehicle.
He has also been charged with attempted theft from a vehicle in the Shepparton area at the end of April, a burglary in the Shepparton area at the start of May, and another attempted theft from a vehicle in Shepparton.
He will face Shepparton Magistrates’ Court on the charges.