18yo, teenagers arrested over Calder Highway pursuit

A young man and a teenager have faced court over a police pursuit in a stolen vehicle along the Calder Highway on Thursday.

A 17-year-old has been charged with dangerous driving while being pursued by police, while an 18-year-old is facing a charge of driving in a dangerous manner.

Both cases will return to court later this year. The 18-year-old's bail application was adjourned part-heard, pending a youth justice assessment.

An 18-year-old described as the ringleader behind a series of alleged youth crimes in Victoria's north-west has been remanded in custody.

Lucky Tambo, 18, from Manor Lakes in Melbourne's south-west, has been charged with speeding in a dangerous manner, multiple thefts of vehicles and burglary.

Police told the court CCTV captured five youths, aged 13 to 18, breaking in to Sunraysia Community Health Services at 10:30pm on October 26 before rifling through drawers and Mr Tambo using a hammer to force open a safe to steal five car keys.

Cameras also captured each co-accused driving off in a stolen car. All five cars were later recovered from various locations across Mildura.

A second incident involved the theft of a 2021 MG HS wagon from a driveway in Belmont, near Geelong, on November 5.

Police allege Mr Tambo and four youths were involved in a high-speed chase along the Calder Highway on Thursday.

Eight videos from phones belonging to the youths have been seized by police. One allegedly shows Mr Tambo driving the stolen vehicle at speeds of 158 kilometres per hour.

Police said another showed a 17-year-old, who had been charged with dangerous driving, being pursued by police at speeds of 175km/h.

The pursuit began after roadside police spotted the car speeding at 146km/h at Culgoa, 320km from Melbourne.

The prosecution said during attempts to intercept the car, the 17-year-old driver allegedly began overtaking trucks and driving on the wrong side of the road, causing several near misses with oncoming vehicles.

Police used stop sticks to puncture the car's tyres outside Ouyen, and the teenagers ran into nearby paddocks before being arrested with help from the police air wing.

Some younger co-accused from the two incidents have been interviewed and released pending inquiries while others are yet to be found.

Leading Senior Constable Fleur Royds told the court Mr Tambo was "the eldest offender, he was the only adult, with children as young as 13, acting as a ringleader to them".

A magistrate described the allegations as "very serious", and ordered a youth justice assessment to explore the potential for supported bail.

Mr Tambo will return to court on November 20.

His 17-year-old co-accused has been granted bail with strict conditions, and will face court on December 6.