Police have charged a youth with multiple offences as part of an investigation into thefts around Merewether.
Merewether residents have been alerting police for months about gangs of, mostly young, criminals casing homes in the early hours of the morning.
At about 10:30am yesterday Lake Macquarie police arrested a 17-year-old male at Gateshead.
The male has been charged with 12 offences, including stealing a motorcycle from Merewether this month and an aggravated break-in in the suburb last month.
He was refused bail and will face court at a later date.