Fifteen thugs leave trail of destruction after escape
The 15 young thugs who broke out of a Victorian detention centre are all back in jail after leaving behind a trail of terror.
The teens’ violent crime spree included carjacking a man after he visited his wife’s grave, assaults and home invasions that left innocent families cowering in fear.
Girls Kaitlyn and Jasmine watched on in horror as their dad fought off a knife-wielding carjacker who broke out of the Malmsbury Detention Centre more than eight hours earlier.
A gang of escapees had followed the young family from the movies at Narre Warren, before one of the group got into the family Audi.
“As I was facing him, he was lunging at me still with the knife,” the girls’ father said.
“He realised that my father-in-law came storming out of the house.
“I chased him down the driveway to the getaway car, which he jumped into … I kicked the back door in and they took off.”
ESCAPEE ARRESTS:
* Six were caught in Lockwood South, south of Bendigo on Wednesday afternoon
* Two were caught in paddocks near Malmsbury on Wednesday night
* Four were found in the Melbourne suburb of Ashburton Thursday morning
* One arrested at Redan, west of Melbourne Thursday morning
* Two arrested in Colac, near Geelong Thursday afternoon
The escapees, who stole an access card from a guard before escaping in stolen cars and from the detention centre roof, are also linked to a string of violent offences, including robberies in Carrum and Bonbeach and a home invasion in Mitcham.
A family with two young children were forced to hide in a bedroom when three of the teenage escapees barged through their front door, claiming to be police.
The family was threatened with a baseball bat and a knife, before the gang stole the family’s Mercedes.
Earlier on Wednesday, Brooke Lee’s mother was one of the first victims targeted by the escapees.
Ms Lee’s mother was dragged from her car in Elphinstone and bashed.
“They were just kicking her and hitting her and belting her,” Ms Lee said.
“They were twice our size, these men were big. They were Caucasian … they were out to hurt, out to kill.
“She was just a mess, her face was already swelling like that’s how hard they hit her.”
Another victim, 83-year-old Herman Kylunhout, described his terrifying encounter with the escapees as he was on his way home from visiting his wife’s grave.
“(They) opened all my doors, pushed me out of the driver’s seat and started screaming at me ‘I’m going to hurt you, I’m going to hurt you’,” Mr Kylunhout said.
The teenage thugs drove Mr Kylunhout’s car to Mulgrave, before eventually crashing the car and fleeing on foot.
Four of the seven teens were arrested at a home in Ashburton, with weapons including large knives and baseball bats found at the property.
The final two escapees were arrested in Colac late on Thursday after a police chase which ended on foot through residential streets.
Officers spotted a blue Ford Falcon driving erratically near Geelong and at speeds of up to 150km/h.
The duo were arrested after a short chase and have been returned to custody.
The 15 inmates are yet to be charged over the escape and crime spree, as the investigation continues.
