A family of four have become the latest victims of what some are calling a crime wave in an affluent suburb, as a local celebrity slammed the Prime Minister over the issue.
On Tuesday, former AFL WAG Rebecca Judd criticized Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan after a home invasion in her wealthy suburb left an elderly man fighting for his life.
This came after a shocking night of crime in which another house in Brighton, 11km south-east of Melbourne’s CBD, was broken into three times in five hours early on Sunday, all of which was captured on CCTV.
Two hooded and masked thieves first broke in at 1am to steal the car keys and remote control from the underground garage while the family was sleeping.
They returned at 2:30 a.m. with more accomplices to steal the family sedan, a black pickup truck and a Mini Cooper.
At 6am, the brazen thieves returned with even more help to clean out the rest of the garage and steal a dirt bike, an electric scooter, an adventure bike, golf clubs, a purse and other expensive possessions.
Two thieves first broke in at 1am and stole the car keys and garage remote control, then returned at 2.30am with more people to take a sedan, a van and a Mini Cooper. CCTV footage shown
AFL WAG Rebecca Judd (pictured) has been a constant critic of crime levels in Brighton
The thieves even peeked through the bathroom window while a family guest was in the shower.
“Once they knew he was an easy target, they called his companions and took the rest out,” said one family member, who wants to remain anonymous, the resident said. Seven news.
“Probably the scariest thing is how many times they came back.”
The offenders appear to be young, and the resident said he “almost expected” the robbery because juvenile crime is so common in the area.
“You see it all the time,” the man added.
Police are investigating the incident.
“It’s typical of Melbourne at the moment,” said Victorian opposition police spokesman Brad Battin.
“It is a worrying sign that people have so little fear that they can return to the same residence three times in one night.
“I think young people today know the laws better than we think as it is effectively a green light for young people to commit crimes here in Victoria.”
The next morning, in the same suburb, three criminals broke into a house a stone’s throw from Judd’s $7.3 million mansion, prompting her to again attack the level of crime.
“A 74-year-old man who was at home at the time was seriously assaulted and subsequently taken to hospital in critical condition,” read a police statement.
The thieves returned at 6 a.m. to empty the rest of the family’s garage.
Judd, who lives with her AFL premiership legend husband Chris and their four children, shared a news report about the story.
“Just another night in Victoria (yes, this is Bayside again, but we know this happens everywhere),” Judd told her 758,000 Instagram followers.
He also directly addressed the state chief minister. ‘Jacinta Allan, how do you keep avoiding this? Let’s see how many of the alleged criminals are out on bail.
“My thoughts are with the victim in the ICU and his poor wife.”
Judd, 41, has persistently called on the Victorian government to do more to combat crime in Melbourne.
In June 2022, she said she felt “unsafe” in her mansion and was “very fed up with the rapes, assaults and home invasions by gangs in Bayside.”
“I personally know two women who have suffered home invasions in Brighton in recent weeks while they were at home,” he said.
She also reposted CCTV footage of a gang of youths lurking outside properties in her affluent suburb and claimed it made her feel “unsafe”.
Rebecca Judd (pictured) criticized Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan after a home invasion in her wealthy Bayside suburb left an elderly man fighting for his life.