Police Reports: K9 Officer Addy Has a Busy Week

Wauwatosa's police dog, Addy, confronted a dangerous escaped criminal and rooted out hidden drug paraphernalia last week.

On Tuesday, a 31-year-old Oak Creek man was arrested on multiple, unspecified warrants after he escaped and fled at 7:30 p.m. from the Froedtert Hospital Emergency Room, where he had been taken on a medical detention by the West Milwaukee police. Wauwatosa police were advised that the man had a lengthy history of assaultive behavior and use of weapons.

He was spotted by an officer in an alley east of North Robertson Avenue near Gridley Avenue. The Tosa Police Department’s K9 officer arrived with Addy, who canvassed the neighborhood with his nose and pulled his officer in through an open gate at a residence in the 8300 block of North Portland Avenue.

He then led the way toward a shed in the back yard. After two demands to come out, accompanied by warnings that the dog would be released, the Oak Creek man emerged from the shed and surrendered without resistance.

The nose knows

At 9:41 p.m. Monday, police were called to , 2201 N. Mayfair Rd., on a complaint from a manager that she had twice that evening seen one of her employees, a server, smoking marijuana in the parking lot.

Officers interviewed the server, a 21-year-old Verona man, who denied having or smoking any marijuana. But when Addy was called in, he immediately zeroed in on a backpack inside the man’s employee locker.

Inside was a quart jar containing flakes of marijuana, which the man admitted was his. His car was then searched, and a digital scale was found, also with marijuana residue. He was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia.

In other recent incidents:

Thursday

At 5:22 p.m., a 50-year-old Milwaukee woman was arrested for possession of stolen property and trespassing after police scanning Mayfair Mall Security radio heard a report of an attempted retail theft from the store.  The message said that the woman had been stopped and had returned the store’s merchandise, then left. An officer found the woman at the Treats by Bernadette shop, but she denied having stolen anything. However, a shop employee pointed out a bag in the store and said the woman had dropped it when the police officer showed up. The bag contained jewelry that proved to have been taken from Aldo, and it turned out that the suspect had in fact returned to Aldo not its items but others stolen earlier from and . The woman was also under a five-year ban from the mall since a 2009 theft, and another five years was tacked on to that.

A Waukesha man reported that some time since 5 p.m. Tuesday both license plates had been stolen off a company van belonging to ., while the van was parked there.

Wednesday

A citizen turned in a Ford vehicle key with an electronic entry fob found in during Fourth of July observances. Anyone believing it to belong to be his or her property may contact the Wauwatosa Police Department, where it is being held for safekeeping.

Monday

At 5:49 p.m., a 21-year-old Franklin man was arrested for retail theft after police were called to seek a thief in Mayfair Mall who had taken a pair of Gucci sunglasses from . The suspect was described as wearing a white T-shirt and gray shorts and was carrying a Build-a-Bear box. Police spotted him just outside the main entrance, and he admitted to the theft, opened the Build-a-Bear box, and handed over the hidden glasses. He said he had come to the mall to get his girlfriend the toy bear and had only taken the sunglasses on the spur of the moment.

At 4:10 p.m., police were called to , 6931 W. North Ave., on a report that five women had just run out of the store with a large selection of Dora the Explorer children’s party goods. A sales clerk said two of the women had come in first and were looking over and selecting the themed party favors, then began arguing loudly. The other three women entered and joined the first two, and the clerk felt as though these new subjects were trying to distract her from the first two. Eventually, she said, they just all ran out of the store together, one of them carrying a shopping basket full of Dora plates, cups, banners, stickers, pencils and napkins, in all about $60 worth.

The pharmacist at the . reported that a known Milwaukee woman tried to pass a forged prescription for Oxycodone written on a Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare pad. The pharmacist tried to contact the doctor who had signed it only to learn that she is not affiliated with Wheaton. The pharmacist noted that at least two Oxycodone prescriptions had been filled for the suspect recently, but she was now flagged as a forger.

Sunday

At about 11:52 p.m., someone set a portable toilet on fire in Hartung Park, at Menomonee River Parkway and West Keefe Avenue. A resident called police after he heard an explosion in the park and looked out the window to see the toilet in flames and a dark-colored SUV speeding away north on the parkway. A engine arrived just after police and quickly put out the fire. No evidence could be found of what kind of explosive device or accelerant was used. The portable toilet belongs to Waste Management Inc.

At 8:27 p.m., a Wauwatosa police officer on his way to a call was almost hit by a blue Chrysler Sebring darting out of the parking lot of , 11155 W. North Ave. The officer said he had to swerve hard to avoid a collision, and that the Sebring fell in behind him as he continued east on North Avenue toward his call. But soon his call was cancelled and he was told to respond to a report of six people running out of Denny’s without paying their bills and fleeing in two blue cars, one possibly a Sebring. The officer slowed, then changed lanes in the hope that the car would pass him so that he could make a stop. But the Sebring stayed right behind him, slowing and changing lanes with him. Finally, he pulled to the curb and stopped, and the Sebring pulled over too and briefly stopped behind him. It soon pulled out, though, and now the officer was able to use his emergency lights and pull them over. But when the officer got out of his squad car and approached the Sebring, it suddenly accelerated away again at very high speed down North Avenue, and the officer said that by the time he got behind the wheel again, it was already almost out of sight. The car was spotted by another officer on North Avenue near North 69th Street, but he was unable to pursue. Going back to Denny’s, the first officer learned that the six people had come in and sat at two tables next to each other, requested separate checks, and then run out together when they were finished, stiffing the restaurant for bills of $23.93 and $56.01.