A Wodonga woman who was a getaway driver in a Wangaratta home invasion last year has been taken into custody as she awaits her sentence for deceitful offending.

The 55-year-old faced Wodonga Magistrates’ Court on Thursday pleading guilty to her role in the November, 2024 home invasion along with fraudulent purchases of thousands of dollars of power tools used to be pawned.

The court heard on 11 November last year around 1pm the defendant drove three co-accused in her grey hatchback to a Wangaratta home in Tavern Terrace.

A 20-year-old Tallygaroopna man, a 39-year-old man and a 35-year-old Moyhu man exited the vehicle wearing balaclavas, forcing entry at the rear of the house.

Two of the men carried a large safe containing $20,000 worth of coins into the hatchback.

The defendant in the vehicle then drove away, leaving her co-accused at the house just as the homeowner approached their address, driving past the hatchback.

The homeowner called their son who arrived and confronted the three men.

A safe was thrown at the man which hit him in the face, causing large lacerations.

The trio were spotted by patrolling police officers fleeing the property, running near the Wangaratta Christian Fellowships Church grounds, where they found hiding in the bushes and arrested.

Numerous items from the burglary were located with the offenders including a handbag, jewellery and a hard drive containing the Tavern Terrace home CCTV footage.

The defendant was later arrested and charged at her Wodonga home in December last year after police traced mobile phone data and identified her as the owner of the vehicle.

She denied her involvement to police and denied being at the house.

The safe containing the $20,000 coins was never located.

The 55-year-old also pleaded guilty to making multiple fraudulent purchases of $15,755 worth of power tools and motor oil across the North East.

The court heard from 7 June this year until 17 July, the woman made fraudulent purchases of chainsaws, brush cutters, blowers, a generator and motor oils at retail stores in Wangaratta, Benalla, Shepparton and Numurkah.

The purchases would be made with cheques from a stolen chequebook attributed to an unknown man.

At each of the transactions the woman told the store cashier she would be making the purchases on behalf of the cheque book owner and all purchases would be declined days later.

On 21 July police searched the woman’s Wodonga home to find a Jeep wagon driven by the accused to arrive at retail stores.

Inside the car were three blank stolen cheques and three cash converters pawn tickets.

The woman denied knowledge of the cheque book being stolen and said she was purchasing the items because a friend was starting a gardening business.

Defence counsel Nadia David said her client was under no illusions of the peril she faced for her offending, which was done throughout a period of major depression.

Ms David said the 55-year-old was diagnosed bipolar and had gambling issues.

Magistrate Ian Watkins adjourned sentencing to 20 November and ordered the woman be remanded into custody.