Arrest Made in Duplex Burglary in Southeast Tosa

Wauwatosa police arrested a 45-year-old Milwaukee man after a burglary in the southeast corner of the city, probably our lowest crime area.

According to police reports:

Between 6:25 and 11:28 a.m. Monday, the lower residence of a duplex in the 500 block of North 60th Street was broken into and property was stolen.

A couple living upstairs noticed a window broken out of their neighbor’s door and called police.

Police found the small window was right next to the deadbolt handle, which would have allowed a burglar to easily reach in and open the door.

Officers called the victim, who arrived and toured his residence to find cash, watches, jewelry, foreign coins, a laptop computer and three bank cards missing.

Also gone was a sheet of paper with all the computer’s passwords printed on it.

Evidence collected at the scene included shards of glass from the broken window.

A supplementary report by a Wauwatosa detective, filed Thursday, indicated that man was in custody and under arrest on suspicion of having committed the burglary and said that stolen property had been recovered.

However, no report of the actual arrest or of how the Wauwatosa police came to suspect the man was yet available.

The detective had investigated evidence that the suspect was an opiate addict who might have narcotics at the residence where he was staying in the 4200 block of West Orchard Street in Milwaukee.

That did not pan out, but he did find some evidence that led him to request the man's boots for examination. Shards of glass were found in the soles.

The suspect has an extensive record indicating habitual criminality that includes multiple counts of property theft and a conviction for 2nd-degree sexual assault of a child.