One teen from Melbourne, Australia, wanted to be a cop so badly that he broke nearly every law in the book to pass for one – and all before his 17th birthday.
The now-17-year-old is on trial in his home town, facing what must be a record number of charges (120 in total), including reckless driving, driving without a license, identity and financial fraud, making false reports and theft, The Age reports. Even the magistrates were shocked to find the extent to which the teen went to pass for a police officer, including buying a truck and illegally fitting it with lights and sirens.
He even drove the truck to accident scenes, as his own attorney admitted on one of the most recent court hearings. The teen never had bad intentions, according to his defender: he only did all this because he wanted to become a police officer, a first responder.
It all started with the teen reporting a false burglary at his mother’s home and falsely claiming the insurance money. With that money and the sum he got from another false reporting of burglary, he set up a front business and, using his father and another man’s identity, he bought a Isuzu truck and camera gear. He had the truck fitted to look like an emergency vehicle and he took it out on the streets, acting as if he were a real policeman. This included driving at high speeds and running red lights with the siren and the lights on.
The teen also drove other cars before he even got his learner’s permit, the court heard, as reported by the same publication. He opened a couple of car hire accounts using adults’ identities and a false one, and he regularly went out for joyrides.
“This type of behavior is breathtaking in its inception, execution... I don't think we have ever seen anything like this before,” a magistrate said in a Victorian children’s court after the prosecutor presented the case. Since he was 16 at the time he committed the crime, his attorney wants his slate wiped clean, especially since he was a first offender.
This would be possible under the diversity program, which allows first offender to walk free if they admit to their wrongdoing.
Currently working at McDonald’s, the teen is also seeking counseling and is seeing a youth justice worker. The magistrate seems in favor of his getting a fresh start.
“He is going to do well at whatever he does. He is a highly productive young man, I have no doubt he will be a success... we don't want it to be criminal,” said the magistrate.
That the teen is a “highly productive young man” is an understatement. Should he invest all the energy and time he invested in his scheme into something legal, he will undoubtedly be a success.
He even drove the truck to accident scenes, as his own attorney admitted on one of the most recent court hearings. The teen never had bad intentions, according to his defender: he only did all this because he wanted to become a police officer, a first responder.
It all started with the teen reporting a false burglary at his mother’s home and falsely claiming the insurance money. With that money and the sum he got from another false reporting of burglary, he set up a front business and, using his father and another man’s identity, he bought a Isuzu truck and camera gear. He had the truck fitted to look like an emergency vehicle and he took it out on the streets, acting as if he were a real policeman. This included driving at high speeds and running red lights with the siren and the lights on.
The teen also drove other cars before he even got his learner’s permit, the court heard, as reported by the same publication. He opened a couple of car hire accounts using adults’ identities and a false one, and he regularly went out for joyrides.
“This type of behavior is breathtaking in its inception, execution... I don't think we have ever seen anything like this before,” a magistrate said in a Victorian children’s court after the prosecutor presented the case. Since he was 16 at the time he committed the crime, his attorney wants his slate wiped clean, especially since he was a first offender.
This would be possible under the diversity program, which allows first offender to walk free if they admit to their wrongdoing.
Currently working at McDonald’s, the teen is also seeking counseling and is seeing a youth justice worker. The magistrate seems in favor of his getting a fresh start.
“He is going to do well at whatever he does. He is a highly productive young man, I have no doubt he will be a success... we don't want it to be criminal,” said the magistrate.
That the teen is a “highly productive young man” is an understatement. Should he invest all the energy and time he invested in his scheme into something legal, he will undoubtedly be a success.