Police have charged a man after he allegedly rammed a police car before setting a stolen car on fire in Cockatoo on Wednesday 21 June.
25-year-old Boronia man Michael De Angelis has been charged with more than 35 charges including:
• aggravated offence reckless expose police officer to risk by driving (x2)
• damage emergency service vehicle by reckless driving
• dangerous driving whilst pursued by police (x2)
• assault police
• fail to stop on police direction (x3)
• drive in a manner dangerous and speed dangerous
• criminal damage by fire
• attempted burglary
• multiple shop thefts.
The charges follow an incident just after 12.30pm when police spotted the allegedly stolen car on Manchester Road in Mooroolbark.
During the incident the driver allegedly rammed a police vehicle before he sped off travelling through several suburbs to Cockatoo where he dumped the car and allegedly set it alight.
De Angelis was arrested by police nearby.
The charges also relate to several reported thefts over the past month, other incidents of driving off from police and the theft of a motor vehicle from Hampton.
De Angelis has been remanded in custody and appeared before Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 22 June.
