Police Reports: Four Teens Try Big Candy Heist, But All Get Caught

At 9:49 a.m. Tuesday, two 17-year-old boys and two 18-year-old men, all from Milwaukee, were arrested for theft after they grabbed and bolted out of Pick ‘n Save, 6950 W. State St., with display boxes of candy worth more than $350.

Police found them loitering nearby but without the candy. However, video cameras outside recorded them carrying the ill-gotten goods in bags toward the back corner of the store, then returning without the bags.

The cache of candy was soon discovered hidden among some shrubs, and more video footage and eyewitness testimony from inside the store was enough to positively identify them.

One of the teens admitted he was playing hookey from school, that all four went to Pick 'n Save with the intention of stealing lots of candy, and that their intention was to hide it until the coast was clear and then haul it onto a county bus.

In other recent incidents:

Thursday

At 2 p.m., police were called to on a report from a man who had been walking in the park and seen two juveniles shooting out a window in the park pavilion with a BB handgun. He said that when the boys saw him, they ran south through the park to West Wells Street, where he lost sight of them. Police found and questioned two suspects in the area who matched the descriptions given by the witness, but neither had a BB gun on him, and they were released for lack of probable cause. The boys were not in school because one, a Wauwatosa 15-year-old,  had been expelled from , and the other, a West Allis 17-year-old,  said he was home-schooled. A county parks employee said that two windows in the pavilion had been shot out earlier in the week and that the suspects in Thursday’s incident had destroyed a third, doing $200 damage.

At 7 a.m., a resident of the 8600 block of West North Aveune reported that some time since 2 a.m. someone had vandalized his rented taxi while it was parked on the street. He said he had left it on the street because he intended to go back out and drive for more fares, but he fell asleep. He found that the taxi sign on the roof of the cab and the passenger side mirror had been broken. He told officers that some of his neighbors don’t like his late hours and that the cab had been egged before.

Wednesday

At 9:23 p.m., a 22-year-old Milwaukee man was arrested for possession of stolen property during a traffic stop in the 1600 block of Wauwatosa Avenue. A patrol officer pulled him over for having no license plate but then noticed a temporary tag in the back window. The man showed title to the car but said he hadn’t been able to afford to license it. The temporary tag proved to have been stolen, and the driver said he knew it was stolen and that he had paid a friend $10 for it. He said his friend had whited-out the original information and added his, and he thought his friend “did a pretty good job.”

At 1:39 p.m., a 31-year-old woman, no address given, was arrested for theft at , 3201 N. Mayfair Rd., after she tried to leave the store with 10 pieces of lingerie worth $140.90 concealed in a large purse.

At 7:45 a.m., a resident of the 2700 block of North 75th Street reported that sometime overnight someone had entered her unlocked car and rummaged through it, stealing change.

Tuesday

At 7:38 p.m., an employee of , 7520 Blue Mound Rd., reported that a man had just run out of the store with two large boxes of laundry detergent.

At 5:58 p.m., a 17-year-old Milwaukee girl was arrested for possessing stolen property taken from in Mayfair Mall. The girl was seen on video taking the clothes and she was known to be an employee of , another boutique in the mall. Police questioned her there, found the clothes and placed her under arrest.

At 1:48 p.m., a 17-year-old West Allis girl was cited for habitual truancy from Wauwatosa East High School for being absent without excuse for all or part of 19 days this semester. Police had warned the girl two weeks earlier that she would be cited and she agreed to attend school and classes, but then proceeded to miss one whole day plus three class periods after the warning.

At 1:34 p.m., loss prevention staff at , 4100 N. 124th St., reported that three men had entered the store, gone straight to the tool section, selected expensive tool combo kits and then bolted out with two of them when they were asked for a receipt at the door. One of the subjects dropped his goods, but the other two made off with power tool kits worth more than $700.

At 11:33 a.m., a 15-year-old Wauwatosa boy was arrested at East High School for possession of marijuana police received a tip that he was holding. The boy had a small amount of marijuana concealed inside a fake wristwatch. Because had had two prior arrests, one in March 2011 for possession of amphetamines and resisting arrest, one Feb. 8 for possession of stolen property, the case was referred to Milwaukee County Children’s Court.

Monday

At 2:21 p.m., an employee of in Mayfair Mall reported that a well-known customer had come to the shop and was acting in ways that made her think the woman was intoxicated, possibly on drugs. Eventually the woman selected a $300 pair of eyeglass frames and started to leave. The employee tried to stop her but she refused to comply and left the mall. Police contacted the suspect, a 32-year-old Milwaukee woman, by phone, but she refused to come to the police station and would not answer her door at home. After repeated failed attempts to interview her, police mailed her a citation carrying a bail amount of $807 and an April 30 court date.

At 10:08 a.m., a 17-year-old Wauwatosa boy was cited for habitual truancy after missing school at East High all or part of 26 days this semester and a 17-year-old Milwaukee boy was cited for unexcused absences on 22 days, his second truancy citation. The Wauwatosa boy said he simply doesn’t like going to school and won’t. The Milwaukee boy said he sleeps until 11 a.m. and that by the time he is up and ready, most of the day is gone and it isn’t worth going. He agreed with the school resource officer that going to bed and rising earlier might improve his chances of making it to class.

At 12:57 a.m., police stopped a driver in the 12300 block of West Burleigh Street for driving 50 mph in a 35 mph zone and ended up arresting her passenger, a 21-year-old Franklin man, for possession of drugs with intent to deliver when he was found to have a Mason jar full of buds weighing almost 100 grams. He also had $2,200 cash on him. The man had been arrested by Milwaukee police on Jan. 5 for possession with intent to deliver marijuana and for carrying a concealed weapon without a permit.

Sunday

At 8:42 p.m., a manager at , 2201 N. Mayfair Rd., reported that he had just interrupted a break-in to a car in the parking lot of the business. The manager said he had left the building and was walking toward the rear of it when he saw a man sitting in the passenger seat of a car with the door open. He asked the man what he was doing and he “this is my cousin’s car.” But the manager notice broken glass and realized the man had just broken it. The suspect ran and police came up empty-handed after a search of the area. A cell phone and charger were stolen from the car.