Police Reports: Contractor Bilks Homeowner on Repair Job

A Wauwatosa man who needed new windows trusted an unfamiliar contractor to do the job and advanced him the cash. You can probably guess the rest.

A resident of the 2200 block of North 106th Street reported to last Friday that he had been the victim of theft by fraud by a contractor.

He told officers that he needed to replace windows in his home and that his sons had recommended a man for the job.

The man stopped by, gave his estimate, and said he needed money up front to buy the windows. The balance for installation would be due after the job was done.

The victim said he had paid the Waukesha man $4,000 in advance on a $6,600 contract signed in November to replace eight windows in his home.

Weeks went by, he said, and the contractor told him repeatedly that the windows were "coming soon."

The he stopped returning calls all together.

Police found that the suspect had been convicted of theft by a contractor in September and turned the case over to detectives.

In other incidents:

Sunday

The owner of a commercial building in the 7300 block of West State Street reported that for the second time his “Office for Rent” sign had been stolen from a post in the lawn of the property. The first time it was taken it was found and returned by a neighbor.

A 15-year-old Milwaukee boy staying at the Carmelite Home for Boys, 1214 Kavanaugh Pl., was arrested for criminal damage to property and disorderly conduct after he smashed a window with a chair and kicked a water fountain so hard he knocked it from the wall, causing $3,500 in damage. He was angry because Carmelite staff refused to return his cell phone.

Saturday

A resident of the 2200 block of North 73rd Street reported that a "Recall Walker" sign had been stolen from her front yard some time early Friday morning.

At 4:24 p.m., a 24-year-old woman and a 14-year-old girl, both from Milwaukee, were arrested for retail theft at at after they were caught trying to steal more than $800 worth of merchandise. The woman had a needle-nose pliers concealed in her bra that she used to remove security sensors. The girl used a foil-lined bag inside her purse to defeat sensors. The girl had been banned from the mall in January for theft and so she was also cited for trespassing.

Last Friday

At 3:04 p.m., an 18-year-old Milwaukee woman was arrested at Macy's for retail theft, trespassing and as a fugitive after she was caught trying to steal three pairs of shorts by removing the security sensors and concealing them in a bag. Police found a screwdriver in the bag as well, presumably the tool used to remove the devices. The woman initially gave police a false name, and when correctly identified she was found to have been banned from mall and that there was a warrant for her arrest for retail theft and obstructing an officer through the Greendale Police Department.