Police Reports: Drunken Vigilante Tries to Clean Up Tosa

At 8:47 p.m. last Friday, a 47-year-old Wauwatosa man was arrested for disorderly conduct after he, in a high state of intoxication, verbally assaulted a Milwaukee woman who he mistook for a prostitute.

The woman told officers she and her boyfriend were at the bus stop at West State and North 70th streets when an unknown man who was clearly drunk began to yell at her.

She and her boyfriend then left to walk to the next stop east, at 68th Street, but her boyfriend decided to go to the Pick ‘n Save while she continued.

At the bus stop, she said, she was suddenly grabbed her the shoulder and spun around, and she found herself confronting the drunken stranger again, who shouted “Whore!” at her over and over.

The woman ran into the middle of the street to escape him, and a passing driver who had seen the altercation allowed her into his car, where she called police.

The suspect, in a slurred and difficult to follow statement, said he thought the victim was a prostitute, and he does not like prostitutes in the area. He admitted following her, yelling at her and grabbing her.

In other recent incidents:

Saturday

A resident of the 7100 block of Blue Mound Road reported that some time since Thursday someone had entered his detached garage and stolen two bicycles. There was no sign of a forced entry and the owner said the overhead door might have been left open during part of the time before he noticed the theft.

A resident of the 2300 block of North 64th Street reported that overnight someone had entered two unlocked cars in her driveway and stolen a small amount of money from each.

At 12:50 a.m., a resident of the 2200 block of North 69th Street reported that someone had just broken into his home by kicking in the back door while he had been asleep on the couch. He did not encounter the burglar and nothing was taken. The victim said he had come home about an hour earlier and fallen asleep in the living room. He was awakened by a loud banging and got up to find the door broken out of its frame. He did not see anyone and had trouble locating his cell phone, and so was unable to alert police for several minutes. Police found that the man’s car had been rifled as well, and the owner’s manual, insurance card and possibly some CDs were missing.

Last Friday

At 8:42 p.m., a 43-year-old Glendale woman was arrested for retail theft and resisting an officer after she stole a pair of sunglasses from Ragstock at and was detained by police on a county bus at North Mayfair Road and West North Avenue. She fought being taken off the bus and arrested. She was cited with $114 bail for the theft and $681 for resisting.

Police were seeking a 53-year-old West Allis woman who had been employed as a clerk at , 8806 W. North Ave., on suspicion of stealing a customer’s purse from the store. The manager told officers that a Pewaukee woman had returned to the store after having accidentally left her handbag behind on Tuesday. Told that the bag had not been turned in, she had asked the manager to review video footage, which showed the clerk concealing the customer’s bag in her own purse. Police have contacted the suspect by phone and asked her to turn herself in. As of last report, she had not done so.

May 31

At 12:36 p.m., a 22-year-old Milwaukee woman was arrested for retail theft, and two companions, an 18-year-old woman and a 19-year-old man, also of Milwaukee, were arrested on fugitive warrants, at , 3900 N. 124th St. The theft suspect had been seen concealing a number of items in a large handbag and then had threatened to pepper spray a store security officer. She went back into the store and tried to reshelve some of the merchandise but was stopped by police. The man with her had Greenfield warrants for retail theft and carrying a concealed weapon; the other woman had a warrant for truancy.

May 30

At 9:09 p.m., a 15-year-old Milwaukee girl was arrested for the second time in a little over a month for the same crimes after she was caught with a cell phone stolen from an employee-only room at at Mayfair Mall. A store security officer had been watching her on suspicion that she was planning to commit retail theft when she disappeared from view. He then began to receive reports of rifled purses from employees, and called in her description. A police officer had just seen her a moment before, and captured her when she tried to climb a tree bordering mall property. The girl had been arrested on April 23 under closely similar circumstances.

At 6:25 p.m., a 20-year-old Milwaukee woman was arrested for retail theft after she was caught trying to steal baby clothing from at Mayfair. She also had half a dozen pieces of jewelry stolen from Torrid and Forever 21.

Police were investigating a known suspect in a number of thefts of video game controllers from Target, 3900 N. 124th St., and from other area Target stores. A store security officer had noticed the man coming in on several occasions and decided to review him on surveillance footage, where he saw him slicing open packages and concealing the controllers.

At 7 a.m., a foreman for KS Energy reported yet another theft from a staging yard near the construction area on North Mayfair Road. This time 150 short pieces of steel rebar and two 24-inch diameter elbow pipe joints were taken, each weighing about 250 to 300 pounds and worth $3,000 to $5,000. In several earlier incidents, more than $200,000 worth of pipe and some $13,500 worth of tools had been stolen. Two pieces of piping were recovered from a scrap yard and processed for evidence.

A resident of the 8300 block of Gridley Avenue reported that overnight someone had entered his car and rifled it, but he believed nothing was missing.

May 29

At 6:41 p.m., a 42-year-old Milwaukee man was arrested for retail theft and being party to a crime after he drove a woman to , 3201 N. Mayfair Rd., where she stole five flats of flowers and a hanging basket from the garden center. They drove away without paying, but police were able to trace the vehicle. The man claimed he did not know the woman had stolen the plants.

At 4:09 p.m., police arrested a 21-year-old Milwaukee woman for retail theft at Boston Store after she was caught leaving with a stolen dress in her purse. She fought with store security officers but was subdued before police arrived.

Reports of counterfeit $50 and $100 bills being passed around the same time came in from Jimmy’s Island Grill and Iguana Bar ($100) and the office of the ($50), both at 2303 N. Mayfair Road, and from the ($50) at Mayfair Mall. All the bills were $5 bills that had been bleached and reprinted.

A resident of the 1200 block of North 85th Street reported that overnight someone had entered her unlocked detached garage and ransacked her car, but she believed that nothing was missing.

A resident of he 1100 block of Elm Lawn Street reported that overnight someone had entered her car and stolen several identity cards and a spare key. She said she believed the car to have been locked, but police could find no sign of a forced entry.

May 28

At 5:37 p.m., four suspects were arrested for forgery by counterfeiting after they were stopped not far from Target, 3900 N. 124h St., after a report that one of them had just passed a phony $100 bill. The suspects are a 41-year-old Milwaukee woman who made the purchase; the driver, a 49-year-old Milwaukee man; a 43-year-old Milwaukee man; and a 49-year-old Madison woman. Three more counterfeit $100 bills were found hidden in the four-door pickup truck they were driving, as well as a variety of stolen merchandise from area stores. The U.S. Secret Service is assisting in the investigation. Counterfeiting U.S. currency is a federal felony.