A 14-year-old boy who was called a "one-man crime spree" by his youth advocate appeared in the Blenheim Youth Court yesterday facing charges of burglary, theft and assault.
He was remanded to the youth justice centre in Christchurch and will reappear on July 13.
Youth advocate Gary Sawyer asked for a psychological report to help understand the reasons for the boy's long criminal history to "stop what is effectively a one-man crime spree".
In remanding the boy to the centre, Judge Tony Zohrab said it was highly likely he would reoffend or run away.
The boy was arrested on June 8 after a spate of burglaries in Eltham Rd, Whitney St and Percy St in Blenheim. A 55-year-old woman at one of the houses suffered a broken ankle from falling when the boy punched her in the face while trying to escape, police said.
He also faced two charges of theft after stealing bicycles from Marlborough Boys' College on May 20 and 25.
Police youth aid officer Constable Tony Burden said the boy had also been in custody in Tonga when he lived there for two years.
At a previous court appearance, Mr Sawyer said the boy had been living in Pollard Park for up to three weeks after running away from home.
The boy was offending to provide for himself while living in the park, he said.
Since his first appearance on June 9, two new charges had been laid, with more theft charges likely, Mr Burden said.
The boy also faced a charge of giving false details when he went with police to look for the "real" culprit of the burglaries.
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