Bendigo man who stole school iPads gets community order, not jail
Mitchell Wingrave, 26, pleaded guilty to theft and drug charges and was sentenced to a community corrections order.
Mitchell Wingrave, 26, watched footage of himself stealing 10 iPads worth about $3000 from Melton Secondary College on April 11, 2026. Three days earlier, police were called to a Melton property over reports of someone loitering with a weapon.
Wingrave handed police a large kitchen knife he had hidden in his waistband. Asked why he broke into the school, he said, 'It's payday.
Well, it was payday.' Wingrave told police, 'Juice [meth] makes you do strange things.'
A day later, someone found the iPads in their car in Strathdale and took them to police. Wingrave pleaded guilty on October 6 in Bendigo Magistrates Court to charges including theft and drug possession.
Magistrate Jarrod Williams gave him a community corrections order focused on drug and alcohol treatment. Wingrave had already spent 19 days in custody and was to be released later that day.
- 10 iPads
- iPads stolen
- About $3000
- Value of iPads
- Bendigo Magistrates Court
- Court location
- 19 days
- Time in custody
Why it mattersCourts can order drug treatment, and a new offence can lead to a harsher sentence.
AustraliaNo direct Australian effect yet, as this is one local case in Victoria. Only a new law or policy would change that.
✓ Claims checked against the source. checked 3 h ago
Open this story in InSnip →
