Double Break-In Hits Commercial Building

All seemed normal to a Brookfield man when he arrived at his business in Wauwatosa shortly before 6 a.m. last Wednesday. But after he unlocked, the feeling changed.

Overnight, someone had broken into Z3 Technologies, in a commercial building at 11400 W. Blue Mound Rd., and taken two computer monitors and $20 in loose change. But there had been no sign of forced entry.

It turned out it was the second of two burglaries in the building, and access to his office was gained through an unlocked door between his and an adjoining CPA’s office. That office had been broken into by someone prying open the front door.

A cabinet had been placed in front of an unused door between the offices. The burglars found it, moved the cabinet and rifled both businesses.

From the CPAs office, a computer, two monitors, three hard drives and a router were taken. But the burglars didn't stop at electronic equipment and didn't put down their tools. A vending machine was also destroyed and emptied of products and an estimated $50 in cash.

Police said that the glass front of the vending machine had been smashed and the sheet metal ripped off.

The owner of the CPA business said that it was up to the last tenant to leave to lock the building, and she did not know who that might have been. There had been no forced entry to the outer doors of the building and no alarms sounded.