Police Reports: Firefighters Are Victims of Car Break-Ins

Two reported Saturday that overnight their vehicles had been broken into and rifled while they were parked at Wauwatosa Fire Station No. 2, 4187 N. Mayfair Rd.

Windows of both vehicles had been smashed out, and the cover of the built-in stereo in one had been popped off, but nothing was taken. The door lock and handle had also been damaged to the point that the door couldn’t be opened, resulting in about $1,000 damage to that vehicle, a Jeep.

The other firefighter reported his SUV had been rifled as well, and he thought he was missing a single credit card from his wallet but later found it, resulting in no net property loss.

There was some cash and other credit cards in the firefighter's wallet as well, but somehow the thief overlooked it all together.

In other recent incidents:

Sunday

A resident of the 2200 block of North 102nd Street reported that overnight someone entered her van, parked in her driveway, and stole some of her property. Missing were a diaper bag and its contents and a digital camera. She said she was sure the van had been locked, but police could find no sign of forced entry.

At 12:24 a.m., a 28-year-old Milwaukee woman was arrested for drunken driving, first offense, and possession of marijuana after a traffic stop in the 2300 block of North 113th Street. An officer had followed the woman some distance on West North Avenue and saw her driving erratically. When stopped, she admitted to having had “two shots” to drink, and when the officer noticed green, leafy “shake” on her lap, she said she had just “smoked a blunt.” The officer found an open and three-quarters empty bottle of vodka in the car, as well as bag containing 2.68 grams of marijuana. The woman had a legally registered .22-cal. pistol in a holster under her seat, which was confiscated until after disposition of her case. She could not complete a field sobriety test and registered a .09 blood alcohol content.

Saturday

A resident of the 7800 block of Warren Avenue reported the theft of an expensive digital camera and said he suspected his Brazilian aupair, who had sent him an e-mail saying she was quitting and cleaned out all of her belongings before he arrived home. Also missing was the camera, which he said the family had lent her to use while she was with them. He said the woman, 23, had shown a lot of interest in photography but less in her actual profession – she had once told him the only reason she came to the United States was to find a husband. When the man told the aupair service she had left, he was informed that as of the moment of her resignation her visa was revoked and she would now be in the country illegally. Police had not located her as of last report.

Friday

A West Bend woman reported that between 1 and 3 p.m., while her car was parked in the 9900 block of West Wisconsin Avenue, someone smashed in a back window and stolen her purse, which she had left on the back seat floor.

Thursday

At 3:45 a.m., a 34-year-old Greenfield man was arrested for disorderly conduct after he kicked in a glass pane in the door to a Wauwatosa woman’s home. Police were called to respond to a loud fight with possible injuries and found small pools of blood all around the front of the house. When the woman opened the door, they saw a trail of more blood, leading to the suspect in the bathroom, nursing a deep cut in his ankle. It turned out he had been staying the night, another man had showed up, he got angry and left, then came back and kicked in the glass, wounding himself on the shards.

Last Wednesday

At 5:39 p.m., a 23-year-old Wauwatosa man was arrested for possession of narcotics after officers were called to investigate an intoxicated and disorderly subject who was yelling at passing cars near West North Avenue and North Mayfair Road. When officers arrived, they spotted the man wandering in traffic, shirtless, and waving his doffed shirt around his head. When officers tried to halt him, he ran. They gave chase, and one officer saw him toss something into some bushes. When it was recovered, it was found to contain eight Oxycodone tablets. The subject continued to argue with and scream at police after they caught him, but appeared also to doze off between brief, vile rants.

At 3:26 p.m., a 31-year-old Milwaukee man was arrested for retail theft after he attempted a fraudulent return of merchandise at , 6950 W. State St., and then was found to also have open warrants for ID theft from Waukesha County and for felony probation violation from the state. The man had been seen entering the store and heading straight for the produce section, where he grabbed a cart with some merchandise in it. He then went to the customer service desk and returned the items, but when the watching loss-prevention officer approached and asked to see the receipt he used – which turned out to be an old one for other merchandise – he ran. He was overtaken in the parking lot by store employees and held for police.

Aug. 28

A resident of the 8200 block of Red Arrow Court reported that overnight someone had stolen three signs from his yard, all of them in support of President Obama.

Aug. 27

A resident of the 8400 block of Stickney Avenue reported that between 8:30 and 11:30 a.m. someone entered her open, attached garage and stole her bicycle. She said the door was open because she has been having issues with it opening on its own, which the reporting officer suspects is because someone living nearby has a garage door opener with the same code.

At 5:55 p.m., a Milwaukee woman who works at Pick ‘n Save on State St. reported that some time since 2 p.m. someone had smashed out a window in her car and stolen her purse, which she had left on the passenger side floor. Inside her purse, she were her iPhone and iPod, along with credit cards and identification. She told police there was a tracking application installed on the phone, but repeated attempts to locate it came up empty, with messages that the function had been disabled.

At 3:30 p.m., a 36-year-old Milwaukee woman was arrested for theft at and then found to have two outstanding warrants, also for retail theft. She was seen concealing items in her purse at the Joseph A. Bank store and was followed to the parking lot by mall security and detained for police. The warrants were from the Greenfield Police Department and the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Department. The woman also had more retail thefts on her record, and she was held for deputies to take her to jail.

A resident of the 1900 block of North 85th Street reported that overnight someone had entered her unlocked car in her driveway and stolen her purse and its contents, including cash. She said had her grandchildren and was in a hurry to get them inside and to bed and had forgotten to lock the car.

At 1:47 p.m., a 26-year-old West Allis man who was employed at , 8616 W. North Ave., was arrested for theft after he admitted to regularly stealing bottles of liquor from storage in the basement. The manager had begun to notice bottles missing and suspected the employee because he always brought a backpack to work, and the 1.75-liter bottles that were disappearing were large and would have been otherwise hard to conceal. He set up a sting, opening a case of 1.75-liter vodka and leaving it in the basement, full. After he saw his employee go to the basement just as his shift ended, he checked and found a bottle missing from the case. The employee signed a full confession for police stating that he had been stealing liquor in the same way since mid-July.

A resident of the 2600 block of North 90th Street went to the police station with a length of rope he said he had found left tied in a noose on the flagstaff attached to his home. He said he had not been threatened by anyone nor could think of any reason anyone would wish to frighten him. He suspected high school kids in his neighborhood who have pranked his and other residences with things like toilet-paperings.