Police Report: Update on Crime in Wauwatosa

Here's the latest from the Wauwatosa police reports:

Sunday

At 6:14 p.m., an assistant manager at , 6600 W. State St., reported that a man had stolen a box of nicotine gum. The manager confronted the man after he saw him pocket the gum, asking him to pay for it. But the thief ignored him, got on a bike and left. He later tried to return the gum for a refund at another Walgreen’s in Milwaukee but was refused.

At 5:11 p.m., a West Allis woman reported that at some time in the past hour someone had smashed the right rear window of her boyfriend’s car and stolen her purse while she was at , 2885 N. Mayfair Rd.

At 12:15 a.m., a Waukesha woman reported that at some time after 3 p.m. Saturday, someone had broken into her car by prying the door open and stolen her backpack and bowling bag while it was parked at , 11703 W. Blue Mound Rd., where she works. Her car was badly damaged, and the thief netted a bowling ball and shoes and two criminal justice textbooks.

At 11:48 a.m., employees of Target, 3900 N. 124th St., reported that a woman had stolen a cartload of clothing. An employee stationed at the exit did not realize at first that she hadn’t paid and failed to stop her, but he did get the license plate number of the car in which she left.

Saturday

At 11:06 p.m., a 19-year-old Milwaukee man was arrested on an outstanding warrant for violating probation on a robbery conviction after a traffic stop for a broken taillight in the 5100 block of West Wisconsin Avenue. The man was a passenger in the car. When the officer asked the driver if he had ever been arrested, he said he was on parole “for murder.” He had been arrested three times for homicide.

At 4:15 p.m., a Franklin man was arrested for theft at at Mayfair Mall after he was caught trying to leave the store wearing seven stolen shirts under his own. He had been seen taking eight shirts and a pair of jeans into a fitting room, where he stayed for half an hour. He then left the fitting room carrying only one shirt and the jeans, which he returned to racks.

At 1:48 p.m., police went to , 7616 W. State St., on a report of a stolen bicycle. The owner, a Wauwatosa teenager who works at the restaurant, told officers the custom-made bike had disappeared between 4 and 10 p.m. Friday from a storage shed that usually is locked but is opened frequently by employees of both Bartolotta and Pizzeria Piccola when they get supplies. Other bikes and valuable items in the shed were left alone.

At 12:15 p.m., a 29-year-old Milwaukee man was arrested for drunken driving, second offense, after he rolled his pickup truck at the corner of 124th Street and North Avenue. The man told officers he had been up drinking heavily until 3 or 4 in the morning but hadn’t been drinking since. He failed a field sobriety test.

At 11:40 a.m., a 50-year-old Milwaukee man was arrested for theft when police chased him down after he broke into a cash register at 3201 N. Mayfair Rd., and fled. The suspect ran across the and was captured at the south entrance.

At 6:36 a.m., a 51-year-old Milwaukee man was arrested for trespassing after a resident of the 8200 block of Stickney Avenue called to complain that the man was loitering in his yard. Police had had contact with the man three times on Friday for public intoxication.

At 12:44 a.m., a Wauwatosa resident reported that at some time since 2 p.m. Friday his car had been stolen from the parking lot at Mayfair Mall while he was at work Maggiano’s Little Italy restaurant. The owner said he never thought his car would be targeted for theft. It’s a well-worn 1992 Toyota Camry that is missing two door handles and has a large dent in one of the panels.

Friday

At 8:30 p.m., a Wauwatosa resident reported that at some time since 7 a.m. the rear license plate had been stolen off his car. He works in Oak Creek but did not know where the theft occurred.

At 8:15 p.m., an 18-year-old Milwaukee woman was arrested for retail theft after she was caught trying to leave Macy’s at Mayfair Mall with two $18 shirts.

At 8:30 a.m., an Elm Grove man reported that at some time since 9:15 p.m. Thursday someone smashed the driver’s window of his car while it was parked in the lot of , 8913 W. North Ave., where he works. Nothing was missing from the car.

Thursday

At 9:03 p.m., a Wauwatosa resident reported that her 12-year-old daughter’s bicycle had been stolen from her at about 6:30 p.m. on the playground at , 9925 W. Glendale Ave. The girl had gotten off the bike to tie her shoe when a boy about her age approached her and asked if he could ride her bike. She let him, and he rode off and did not come back.

At 5:31 p.m., a resident of the 2600 block of North 117th Street reported that at some time between 8 p.m. Wednesday and 6:30 a.m. Thursday someone entered his unlocked truck and stole a number of items while it was parked in his driveway. He said he had heard his dog barking aggressively at about 11 p.m. and looked out but did not hear anything and did not investigate. He lost a GPS unit, a folding knife, a power sander and a music player, all worth $380.

At 1:57 p.m., a 17-year-old Wauwatosa boy was arrested for possession of marijuana after officers questioned him on a suspicious auto complaint in the 100 block of North 123rd Street. The boy said he was just parked waiting for a friend, but when the officer asked the boy for identification, he noticed a clear plastic bag “rolled up neatly” and “in plain view in the center console.” The officer asked what was in the bag, and the boy said, “It’s weed.” The bag contained three smaller bags of marijuana, totaling 3.17 grams, and the boy also had a digital scale that had flakes of marijuana on it.

At 3:24 p.m., the manager of Radio Shack, 2407 W. North Ave., reported the theft by fraud of five cell phones worth about $1,700 by a woman who identified herself as an employee of a foundation in Chicago and wanted the phones charged to its account. The store manager was suspicious, but a check with the foundation’s provider did list the woman as an authorized account user. However, it turned out that information had been entered fraudulently through the use of a stolen laptop computer than contained the tax ID numbers of the account.

At 10:06 a.m., a Milwaukee man reported that at some time between 9 and 10 a.m., someone had smashed the front right window of his car and stolen a work bag worth $85 and containing nothing of value while he was in Cardinal Fitness, 2885 N. Mayfair Road.