![The burning Nissan Qashqai in Ballarat on Tuesday. Picture by The Courier The burning Nissan Qashqai in Ballarat on Tuesday. Picture by The Courier](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/e8uBJxuTc2fGAziDArmhm5/96333997-2811-4d79-ab68-f9f8819e9f36.jpg/r220_0_1489_900_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
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Brent Harrison appeared at Ballarat Magistrates Court via video link from custody on Wednesday, facing 15 charges including theft and committing an indictable offence while on bail.
Police allege Harrison was part of a group that stole several new vehicles from Wodonga, Wangaratta, Cobram, Shepparton, Kialla, Horsham, Stawell and Maryborough, with some worth $75,000. The group were alleged to have used a universal diagnostic kit to take the late-model cars without the use of a set of keys.
Between November 26 and 27, a $70,000 2022 Toyota HiLux was taken from the Toyota Vehicle Distribution Centre in Shepparton, using the keyless diagnostic device technology.
The HiLux was later found bogged and abandoned in Ballarat on December 6, with police allegedly finding Harrison's fingerprints on the rear tailgate. Police also linked Harrison's phone tower location to Shepparton on the night of the alleged theft.
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Harrison was arrested at his mother's address on Tuesday, with investigators searching a Jeep Cherokee allegedly stolen from Werribee on December 1.
The police allegedly found the universal key generator kit used to steal the cars, two log books believed to have been for HiLuxes stolen in Horsham, stolen number plates, an angle grinder and an assortment of vehicle keys, including for a fleet vehicle.
Defence lawyer Kirsty De Vincelli called upon a Victorian Legal Aid Aboriginal cultural officer to give evidence on behalf of Harrison's mother. The cultural officer said Harrison's mother was not able to give evidence to the court on the day due to the death of Harrison's maternal grandmother, who he had been very close to.
Ms De Vincelli said the "chief driving force" behind the bail application was the funeral of Harrison's grandmother. She also referred to an oesophageal condition Harrison had which required surgical treatment. Magistrate Jarrod Williams granted Harrison bail, to reappear in court on January 30.
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