Homeowners Help Police After Another Morning Burglary

They made one innocent mistake in home security, but a Wauwatosa couple did all the right things to assist police when they found their house had been broken into.

At 11:50 a.m. May 6, after leaving home around 9, the wife and husband came home from work for lunch and found a small window, one of three, had been knocked out of their front door. They also noted that although the door was closed, the deadbolt had been unlocked.

They stopped right there, did not touch a thing, and called police to their home in the 700 block of North 119th Street.

Officers found the whole decorative window from the door had been knocked out, frame and all, and was lying intact inside the door. They surmised a burglar had then reached in and was able to turn the deadbolt without much trouble.

Inside, again without touching anything, officers toured the home with the couple. The wife saw that her notebook computer was missing from its place in the living room.

Detectives arrived, and they were able to lift fingerprints from the outside surface of the pushed-in window.

Two days later, the husband called police with some detective work of his own. He'd found an ad on Craigslist for a notebook computer matching his wife's missing one, leading to a possible suspect.

The couple also combed their home further and reported they were also missing two $100 bills and a watch.

See a problem? Stop and don't touch

One of the most common forms of illegal entry to a home is by breaking a window in or near a door within arm's reach of the doorknob and deadbolt.

The Wauwatosa Police Department will conduct a free home security survey on request, to identify this and other weaknesses in your home defense. Call 414-471-8430 to ask for an appointment.

Police advise that at the first sign or suspicion that a property crime has been committed at your home or business, you should stop, not touch anything further, and call police.

Do not take a chance that a perpetrator may still be inside. Retreat to a safe distance and wait for officers to arrive.

Entering and touching or examining anything on the premises can taint evidence that might lead investigators to an arrest.

At the same time, police always want to know whether victims have any reason to suspect anyone of a crime and, as in this case, whether any further evidence is discovered.