Teen filmed being forced to replace wheels he stole ordered to pay owner $1128

Ethan Harbrow faced harassment and abuse after video went viral. Photo / Viral Hogg

A Dunedin teen who stole four wheels from a vehicle and then faced the embarrassment of being filmed refitting them has had to pay the victim $1128.

Ethan Robert James Harbrow, 19, previously pleaded guilty to theft before the Dunedin District Court and was sentenced by Judge John Macdonald this morning.

Counsel Thea Sefton said Harbrow had seen the wheels several times as the vehicle was parked on his route to work.

She described his decision to take them as "idiotic".

Today's court hearing came three months after the video of Harbrow replacing the stolen tyres and rims went viral after it was shared by the Daily Mail Australia.

The video shows the defendant beside the victim's white Toyota Hilux while admitting the theft.

The owner of the truck allegedly overheard someone pinching the wheels outside his Dunedin home.

"Did you f**k my running boards in from jacking it up?" a man can be heard asking in the video.

"Yes," Harbrow responds sheepishly.

"Did you just drop it on the brakes?" the videographer continues, to which the defendant said he didn't.

The filmer later called the man a "f**king muppet" and an "oxygen thief".

He claimed to have found Harbrow in 30 minutes "using his local networks".

The video, Sefton said, was posted on Facebook and had been shared more than 5000 times.

"[Harbrow] has since received a significant amount of harassment and abuse," she said.

She told the court her client had no previous convictions and a punitive sentence was not required because of the online vitriol he had received.

Judge John Macdonald said there appeared to be "an element of envy" in the offending.

He also noted Harbrow painted the stolen items soon after taking them to try to hide the theft.

But the victim tracked him down to his work, the court heard, and he agreed to refit the wheels.

Along with the reparation, Harbrow was ordered to pay court costs of $130.