Police Reports: Deck the Halls with Stolen Holly

A Milwaukee woman didn't wait a minute to hang up a stolen Christmas wreath on her door, Wauwatosa police said.

At 12:25 p.m. Saturday, a 54-year-old Milwaukee woman and her 24-year-old daughter were arrested for theft from Target, 3900 N. 124th St., after they were seen leaving with two carts full of merchandise without paying, according to police reports.

Store security agents recorded the theft on video and got the women’s license number, and Wauwatosa police were able to easily identify her from records, the reports said.

Officers soon paid a visit to the older woman’s home. She confessed to stealing several cases of soda, one case of bottle water and a gallon of milk. She was arrested and put in a squad car, and an officer next drove to the daughter’s home.

She admitted stealing a shelving unit, a bottle of carpet cleaner and a Christmas wreath, which she had already hung on her door. The wreath was taken down and the woman was taken in for booking, along with her mother.

Each of the women, interviewed separately, said they had money to buy the goods but saw "an opportunity" to get them for free, the police reports said.

At least they did not have to don them now their jail apparel. Each received a municipal citation for theft, with bail set at $303, a was released.

In other recent incidents:

Saturday

At 10:24 a.m., a 53-year-old Milwaukee man was arrested for theft at Boston Store in Mayfair Mall after he was seen bagging seven packages of men’s underwear, worth $179 retail, and trying to leave the store without paying. He was detained, the underwear was recovered, and police found him to have an extensive record including arrests for theft in Wauwatosa in 2006 and 2011. The suspect was sent to the County Jail and police referred his case to the District Attorney for state criminal charges.

Police were seeking a known suspect after a resident of the 7300 block of Wellauer Drive reported at 1:55 a.m. that her car, a 2012 Infiniti, had been damaged by someone throwing eggs at it while it was parked in front of the home. The car wasn't just soiled – the paint was "spider-webbed" wherever the eggs hit it. The woman and her father named a boy in the neighborhood who had been caught and arrested repeatedly for similar incidents of vandalism.

Friday

An employee at Solstice Sunglass Boutique in Mayfair Mall reported the theft of a pair of $295 Gucci sunglasses by a man who came into the store with two companions, picked up the glasses, tried them on, pocketed them and walked out.

At 4:11 p.m., a 25-year-old Milwaukee woman was arrested at Boston Store in Mayfair Mall for theft after store security detained her as she left and found she had thee infant’s clothing items, unpaid for, in a bag. Police searched her and found in her purse two more items, a pair of jeans and a shirt, stolen from Macy’s.

At 3:25 p.m., a 42-year-old Milwaukee man was arrested for theft and violating parole at the Pick ‘n Save at 1717 N. Mayfair Rd. after he went through a self-checkout register without paying for about $65 worth of meat and beer stacked in the lower section of his grocery cart. He was issued a $177 citation for retail theft but was taken to the County Jail because he is currently on parole for robbery.

At 1:36 p.m., an 18-year-old Milwaukee woman was arrested for theft from Buckle in Mayfair Mall after she fled from the store and the mall with a pair of jeans. She refused to halt for a store security agent at the door and also ran from mall security in the parking lot, escaping in waiting car driven by another woman. A patrol officer spotted the car and stopped the women in the 10700 block of West Burleigh Street. He found the jeans hidden in the back seat, with a pair of scissors and two small pieces of material cut out of them that perfectly matched two pieces found in the store with security sensors attached.