Crime & Safety

Police Reports: A Case of Mistaken Identities

Among the week's collection of criminal activity and intrigue, one man displays multiple personalities.

At 5:11 p.m. Monday, a 21-year-old Milwaukee man was arrested for identity theft after a Wauwatosa police officer approached to help in what appeared to be a situation of a stranded motorist being helped already by others.

But when the group quickly scattered, the officer called for assistance and stopped one of the cars.

The driver, it turned out, had no valid driver’s license of his own – however, he did have five valid Wisconsin driver’s licenses that belonged to other people.

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In other recent incidents:

Friday

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At 1:22 a.m., a resident of the 4400 block of North 100th Street reported that he had just returned home to find his house had been broken into. He told officers he had found his side door broken open and had not entered before calling police. Officers cleared the house and then began checking for evidence. They found the lower part of the door dented and that it had been forced open so hard the inside doorknob punched a hole in the wall. Two laptop computers, a Sony Playstation game system, two cases of 25 DVDs each and a digital camera were missing.

Thursday

A Milwaukee man reported that he had been given a counterfeit $100 bill when he cashed his unemployment check at Walmart, 3850 N. 124th St., and he needed to file a police report before the store would refund his money. He said he was given the bill Wednesday night, and on Thursday night went to the BP station at North 76th and Center streets to buy gas. He offered the bill to a clerk who held it up to the light and told him it was counterfeit, with an Abe Lincoln watermark. After returning with the bill to Walmart and being told to report it to police, he brought it to the station. An officer determined that it was a genuine $5 bill that had been washed of its ink and reprinted as a 100.

A resident of the 2400 block of North 65th Street reported that overnight someone had entered her unlocked car in her driveway, rummaged through it and stolen a GPS unit.

A resident of the 2500 block of North 66th Street reported that overnight someone had entered his garage and stolen two bicycles. He thought the garage had probably been unlocked but wasn’t sure. Officers found pry marks around the latch but concluded that the damage was old and that there were no fresh signs of force.

Wednesday

Two residents of the 9200 block of Stickney Avenue reported that overnight their garages had been entered and property had been stolen. One homeowner said that his car parked inside had been rifled and an iPod and a GPS unit had been taken, as well as his garage door remote control. The report did not say whether the owner thought his garage had been locked or not, but officers found no sign of forced entry. A report was not yet filed on the burglary next door, but it was mentioned in this report that the first victim’s garage door opener was found in the neighbor’s car.

Tuesday

At 2:53 p.m. Tuesday, a 16-year-old Brookfield girl trying to stock up on cosmetics and accessories was arrested for retail theft at Mayfair Mall with merchandise from six different stores hidden in her purse and on her person. She was seen stealing a headband from Francesca’s and was followed to . Police detained her when she left that store and found she had goods from , , and in her purse. She also pulled a $3 scent refill from Bath and Body Works from her bra. Only Aldo, where she had taken sunglasses, and Sephora, where she had stolen cosmetics, wanted to prosecute. The value of merchandise from those two stores alone came to more than $425. Because of the value of the merchandise stolen, her case was to be referred to Milwaukee County Children’s Court. The girl said she steals whenever she’s mad at her mother, always feels badly afterward, and was mortified by what her family would now think of her.

A resident of an apartment in the 9600 block of West Hampton Avenue reported that on Monday evening his locked bicycle had been stolen from the building’s open garage, and that he had reviewed video surveillance footage with the building maintenance superintendent that showed the theft in progress. Police viewed and observed two boys riding on a silver 20-inch BMX bike, one of them on the handlebars, entering the garage and both riding out, one of them then on the victim’s bike. Both boys’ physical descriptions were identical, being black, 14 to 17 years old, 5-feet 8- to 10-inches tall, with thin builds of 130 to 140 pounds and lighter complexions.

At 8:47 a.m., a 16-year-old Wauwatosa boy was arrested at for possession of marijuana and paraphernalia (pipe). The boy had been spotted after summer school classes the day before smoking cigarettes with a group of other students on school grounds. The students were called in to the office one by one the next morning and asked to submit to a search, which in the case of this boy turned up a used glass pipe and a small bag of marijuana in his backpack.

A resident of the 2400 block of Lefeber Avenue reported that overnight someone entered his unlocked car in his driveway and stole change and a coupon book. He also said the graceless crook had left his driver’s door wide open and that his front seat was thoroughly soaked with rainwater.

A resident of the 9200 block of Stickney Avenue reported that some time between 5:45 and 6:40 a.m. someone had entered her garage, rummaged through her husband’s car and stolen two bicycles. The woman said that she had been out to her van early and everything was fine, but she had heard two men yelling to someone somewhere to the east of her home. She said she thought that odd and worrisome and she quickly went back inside. When she went back out later, the bikes were gone.

Monday

A 4:49 p.m., a 72-year-old Cudahy man was arrested for retail theft at , 12121 W. Feerick St., after he filled a shopping cart with clothing, shoes and other items, as much as it would hold, and wheeled right out the door. The total resale value of the merchandise was almost $400, a considerable sum at Goodwill. The man said he planned to sell the stuff at rummage sales and that he just forgot to pay.

At 4:43 p.m., a 26-year-old Milwaukee man was arrested for drunken driving, first offense, after a stop for speeding in the 10200 block of West Capitol Drive. He was clocked doing 55 in a 35-mph zone and, when pulled over smelled of alcohol and had bloodshot, glassy eyes. He performed poorly on standard field sobriety tests and blew a .149 preliminary breath sample.

At 4:16 p.m., two Milwaukee women, 18 and 19, were arrested for retail theft at at Mayfair after they were seen concealing jewelry in their babies’ strollers and diaper bags. Between them, they had 14 items worth $1,066.


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