Crime & Safety

Owner of Burglarized Home Suspects his Place had been Cased

Victim found evidence of prowling a week in advance of break-in but did not contact police at the time.

At 8:38 p.m. Feb. 4, a resident of the 2100 block of North 69th Street reported that some time since 5 p.m. someone had broken in to his house and stolen more than $4,000 worth of property.

The homeowner had returned and entered through a sliding patio door, finding to his surprise that it was unlocked and slightly open. He saw in a moment that his home had been entered and things were missing.

The burglar or burglars had smashed a window in a side door to get in and then, apparently, left through the patio door. Missing were a 42-inch TV, a laptop computer, an iPad, jewelry and a watch, cash, a duffle bag and a serving dish from a dining room china cabinet.

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The victim said he had come home about a week before and found footprints in the snow all around his house, but the home had not been entered and he had not called police.

He remembered that in the fresh snow, the Adidas logo from the wearer's shoes had been quite distinct, but those prints were now long gone.

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Wauwatosa police found two sets of new prints in the back yard and on the driveway after the burglary, and one set was from a pair of Adidas tennis shoes. It was impossible by then to match them to the earlier prints.


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