Police Report: String of Thefts Continues

We tried to warn him. On Tuesday, that there had been a long, ongoing string of break-ins to vans, trucks and trailers belonging to contractors and tradespeople, apparently targeting valuable tools and materials. Our lead item today indicates that not everyone got the memo.

Thursday

A resident of the 12000 block of Meadow Court reported that at sometime between 10:45 p.m. Wednesday and 6:45 a.m. Thursday someone stole his work van, loaded with plumbing tools and supplies, from his driveway. He told officers the van was unlocked and that he had inadvertently left the keys in it. He said he normally parked the van in a neighbor’s garage but for the past two nights he had left it in his driveway.

A resident of the 2300 block of North 119th Street reported finding a tool case on her front lawn at 6:30 a.m. and noted that it had not been there at 5 p.m. Wednesday. The responding officer noticed a contractor’s truck parked next door and contacted the owner, who lives there. He said he had noticed his truck was messier than usual but hadn’t missed anything. The officer asked about the tool, a hammer drill, by brand and the owner found that he was missing such a tool. The drill was in the case and was returned to the owner intact.

Wednesday

At 10:20 p.m., a Greenfield man reported that at sometime since 5:45 p.m., someone had slashed both rear tires of his pickup truck while it was parked at Lowe’s hardware store, 12000 W. Burleigh St., where the man works. He had parked his truck in the row farthest from the building and nearest the street. He told officers he could think of no one who would have wanted to target him personally.

At 9:45 p.m., a Milwaukee man reported that at sometime since 1:30 p.m. someone had stolen his son’s bicycle from a rack at , 6700 W. State St., where the son works. He told officers it was the second time his son had had a locked bicycle stolen from the same location. The bicycle in this incident was reportedly worth $600.

At 9:02 p.m., a 22-year-old Milwaukee woman was arrested on a Wauwatosa warrant for obstruction and giving false information to an officer after police responded to a complaint that a man was slapping a woman in the 6900 block of West North Avenue. The two were located in the 2100 block of North 70th Street, but the woman told officers the man had not been hitting her. The open warrant was discovered during a background check.

At 8:23 p.m., an employee of Metcalfe’s Sentry, 6700 W. State St., reported that two women's wallets with identification in them had been found on top of a cabinet in a men's bathroom. The employee said that the wallets could have been left there anytime within the past five years. In both cases, the owners were identified as women who had worked at , 6600 W. State St., at the time. One woman was contacted by phone and said she thought the loss had occurred about a year earlier. The other woman could not be contacted.

At 6:59 p.m., a 17-year-old Wauwatosa boy was arrested for underage drinking and possession of marijuana during an investigation of a rollover accident in the 2700 block of North 124th Street. In that incident, an 18-year-old man was arrested for drunken driving, but police had not yet released that report. Police suspected that passengers had fled from the accident, and the 17-year-old appeared, asking about a friend who had been driving. The boy claimed he had been in another car, and that he and friends had been at a Milwaukee Brewers game. He was noticeably intoxicated and when arrested for underage drinking, he was also found to have a small bag of marijuana in his pocket.

At 6:30 p.m., a resident of the 4300 block of North 94th Street reported that at sometime since 9 p.m. Tuesday someone had smashed the passenger window of her car while it was parked behind her apartment and stolen a small suitcase containing her music player, headphones and tennis shoes. Another tenant told police she had heard a loud bang from the rear of the building between 10 and 11 p.m. but did not investigate.

At 2:34 p.m., the manager of 6634 W. North Ave., reported that sometime between 6 p.m. Monday and 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, someone had damaged a large plate glass window in the store by etching letters on it. According to the police report, the incident is thought to be related to another recent case of graffiti vandalism nearby and numerous other cases that occurred in the area in February.

At 1:15 p.m., a 25-year-old Wauwatosa woman was arrested for retail theft after she was seen concealing several items in her purse and tried to leave Metcalfe's Sentry without paying for them. She claimed she was only separating the items, a candle, nasal spray, deodorant and Tagamet tablets, from other purchases because they could not be bought with food stamps and that she had simply forgotten them, but she later admitted she was stealing. The value of the items was $24.72. She had been shopping with her mother and her 1-year-old son.

A Wauwatosa man reported that at sometime between 1 p.m. and 9 p.m. Tuesday, someone had stolen his locked bicycle from the municipal parking lot at 7700 Harwood Ave. He said it had been secured to a lamp post with a cable lock, and that the lamp post had a security camera mounted on it. He asked that police review video footage to see if the thief could be recognized.

At 9:24 a.m., a 49-year-old Milwaukee man was arrested at , 1220 Dewey Ave., on a fugitive warrant for violating parole. The report did not say for what crime the man was on parole. He was known to be wanted and was arrested on his scheduled release from the institution.

At 8:28 a.m., a West Bend woman reported that her wallet had been stolen from an unattended bag in her office at , 10000 Blue Mound Rd., at sometime between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. Tuesday, and that several purchases had been made on her credit cards.

Tuesday

At 10:45 p.m., a Milwaukee woman reported that at sometime since 4 p.m., someone had broken into her car and stolen her stereo while the car was parked at the , 2303 N. Mayfair Rd., where she works. The thief or thieves had pried up the driver’s door lock and had removed the entire dashboard to get at the stereo components.

At 5:28 p.m., two Wauwatosa girls, one 13 and one 15, were arrested for retail theft at at Mayfair Mall after they were seen taking numerous items into a fitting room while carrying empty bags. A female employee was alerted to observe them, and she saw them stuffing the clothing into their bags. They were halted when they tried to leave the store without paying. Besides being arrested, they were banned from the mall for a year.

At 3:39 p.m., a 19-year-old Milwaukee woman and a 14-year-old Milwaukee boy were arrested for retail theft at Macy’s at Mayfair Mall after they were seen concealing a large number of clothing items in a bag and trying to leave the store without paying. They had 13 items worth $402.97.

At 9:42 a.m., a Wauwatosa resident reported that she had been the victim of identity theft by the fraudulent use of her debit card number. Someone in California had used the number to make $517 in online purchases without her consent.

At 3:14 p.m., employees of , 3201 N. Mayfair Rd., reported that two women had been seen concealing merchandise inside the store and had then left without paying. When an employee tried to detain them, he said, they laughed and “took off running.” Police could not find the suspects, but they are reviewing video footage to see if the women can be recognized.

At 12:45 p.m., a resident of the 100 block of Glenview Avenue reported that at sometime since 7 p.m. Monday someone had stolen her car from her rear driveway. The woman assured police she had locked the car, a green 1999 Dodge Intrepid. Her keys were accounted for.

Monday

A New Berlin woman reported that at sometime between 9:15 and 11:05 p.m., someone broke into her car parked at , 2635 N. Mayfair Rd., and stole her backpack, which contained her lunch and her checkbook. The right rear window of her car had been smashed out.

A Milwaukee man reported that at sometime between 6:30 and 10:15 p.m. someone had broken into his work van while he was at , 2201 N. Mayfair Rd., and stolen his briefcase and its contents. Two locks had been punched out of the van. The briefcase contained a calculator and a tape measure.

At 1:45 p.m., an employee of at Mayfair Mall reported that a young man had stolen a $380 pair of sunglasses. He had asked to look at several pairs and when the employee turned away to take a phone call, he made off with one.

A Brookfield woman reported that at sometime between 8:30 and 9:30 a.m. someone had entered her work vehicle at the Forum, 3333 N. Mayfair Rd., and stolen her purse and its contents. She said she had inadvertently left the vehicle unlocked.