Crime & Safety
Burglars Target Two Homes in East Jacobus Park Area
Break-ins share a lot of similarities and one big difference – one resident was home and asleep when someone was rummaging through her house.
Two likely related burglaries three days and less than three blocks apart were reported in the farthest southeast corner of Wauwatosa, near Jacobus Park – one of them while the homeowner slept.
On July 12, a woman called police after discovering her home in the 5900 block of Wells Street had been broken into some time between 1:30 a.m. when she went to bed 7 a.m. when she woke up.
She told police she'd left her first-floor windows open overnight to let in the breeze. She came downstairs just after 7, she said, to find that the screen on a side window just off her kitchen had been removed and was lying outside on the grass.
She did a thorough check of her property before calling police and found that her purse and a digital camera were gone. She found her purse discarded in the alley behind her house, missing only $12 cash and her cell phone.
She told officers she heard nothing, having slept through the burglary, and none of her neighbors who were home at the time saw or heard anything either. Police have no suspects and little to no evidence.
Similar circumstances greet another woman
At about 9:45 a.m. July 15, a resident of the 500 block of 60th Street returned home after being away since 1 p.m. the day before to a similar scene: The screen had been removed from a back bedroom window and was lying on the lawn, and the window, which she had left partway open for ventilation was raised all the way.She also went in and looked around before calling police, finding that several dressers had been rummaged through, though nothing seemed to be missing. Clothing and paperwork had been taken out of drawers and strewn on her bed.
Like us on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter
Sign up for the Patch NewsletterWhen officers arrived, they found that the burglar or burglars had first cut the screen on a dining room window but apparently couldn't raise the sash.
They also found that a spare bedroom upstairs had been disturbed, again with drawers opened and items moved around, but again the woman said she couldn't see that anything was missing.
And, as before, no one in the area recalled seeing or hearing anything and little evidence was gathered from the scene.
Police urge residents to call at the first sign of a burglary and wait for them to arrive before entering or, if already inside, touching anything, so that officers can clear the property and process undisturbed evidence.
Find out what's happening in Wauwatosawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
