A man and two teen boys, allegedly armed with slingshots and marbles, have been charged with causing more than $1 million in damage after smashing windows in a four month crime spree.
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Police said the windows of 87 businesses in Melbourne were smashed with marbles between September and December 2023.
Around half the businesses targeted by the alleged slingshot attacks had produced invoices for the damage and the total was likely to exceed $1 million with one of the windows costing $150,000 to repair.
Businesses in Melbourne's south east, in Bentleigh and Mentone, were targeted as well as inner city stores in Collingwood, South Yarra, Richmond and St Kilda.
Police tracked the 49-year-old man and two teen boys, aged 15 and 16 years, to a house in Cheltenham on December 13 where officers allegedly found four slingshots.
They also found six firearms, four extendable batons and a small cannabis crop, police said.
Charges laid
The group had 274 charges laid between them including criminal damage, reckless conduct, cultivating and trafficking cannabis and possessing prohibited weapons.
The 15-year-old was also charged with dealing with the proceeds of crime and was bailed to face the Children's Court with the 16-year-old "at a later date", police said.
The 49-year-old was bailed to appear in Melbourne Magistrates' Court on December 19.
Anna Houlahan
Anna Houlahan reports on crime and social issues affecting regional and remote Australia in her role as national crime reporter at Australian Community Media (ACM). She was ACM’s Trainee of the Year in 2023 and, aside from reporting on crime, has travelled the country as a journalist for Explore Travel Magazine. Reach out with news or updates to anna.houlahan@austcommunitymedia.com.au
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