Police have been investigating what they believe to be a series of linked incidents from October 3 to 10 in Shepparton and a number of Melbourne locations including Brighton and Toorak.
About 11.35pm on Monday, officers intercepted an allegedly stolen car on the Monash Freeway carrying four teenage boys and an 18-year-old woman.
The car had allegedly been stolen from Brighton earlier in the day and used in two aggravated burglaries in Cheltenham and Sandringham that night, police said.
The teen driver was arrested without incident but police allege the other four people attempted to run and were chased down by officers.
A 15-year-old boy from Mooroopna has been charged with 18 offences, including aggravated burglary, attempted aggravated burglary, home invasion with an offensive weapon, theft of a vehicle and other offences.
He has been remanded to appear at a children’s court at a later date.
A Mornington boy, 14, has been charged with theft of a vehicle, attempted theft of a vehicle, handling stolen goods and committing an indictable offence while on bail, and has been remanded to appear at a children’s court at a later date.
An Ashburton woman, 18, has been charged with theft of a vehicle, committing an indictable offence while on bail and contravening bail conditions, and was remanded to appear at Dandenong Magistrates’ Court later on Monday.
A Ferntree Gully boy, 17, has been charged with theft of a vehicle, possessing cannabis and committing an indictable offence while on bail, and has been remanded to appear at a children’s court at a later date.
A Blackburn boy, 16, has been charged with theft of a vehicle and committing an indictable offence while on bail, and has been remanded to appear at a children’s court at a later date.