Crime & Safety
Police Reports: Not One Crime Logged in Tosa on Christmas Day
Holiday passed peacefully in our city; preceding week was another matter.
It isn't often that a news organization bothers to report that nothing happened. But somehow it seems worth noting that Christmas Day in Wauwatosa passed without a single reported crime.
Most stores and other businesses were closed, of course, offering limited opportunities for that most common of reported incidents, retail theft. But there were also no reports of cars being entered or broken into, homes or businesses being burglarized, no vandalism or disorderly conduct.
"That's a little surprising," said a police sergeant. "We usually will have at least a couple of domestic violence calls."
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Nope. Peace reigned, apparently.
Just to be sure, the sergeant offered to check for pending reports, which aren't available to the media until they are reviewed and approved.
Find out what's happening in Wauwatosawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Nope. Not one crime on Christmas Day.
One family was saddened by the loss of a loved one when a very elderly man who had long had serious health problems was found deceased in his home.
Other than that, the sergeant said, "The only other call we had was a suspected weapon, but it turned out to be completely unfounded."
The same was not true during the week leading up to Christmas Day, however.
In other incidents through early Monday:
Monday
Three Milwaukee men, two 21 and one 24, were ejected from an event at Blue Mound Gardens, 11703 Blue Mound Road, after a fight broke out at midnight outside the banquet hall. The three could not be positively identified as instigators of the fight, so they were issued warnings for disorderly conduct.
Saturday
At 5:52 p.m., a Sussex man reported that some time since 3 p.m. someone had smashed the window of his car and stolen his daughter’s purse while they were at , 2201 N. Mayfair Road.
At 5:40 p.m., a resident of the 10200 block of West Wisconsin Avenue reported that some time since 12:30 p.m. someone had broken in to his home and stolen an older model computer and a record player. The man had just pulled in to his garage and noticed his back door ajar, then saw than it had been broken open. Police noted that it was dark at the time but none of the streetlights in the neighborhood were on. The Public Works Department said the lights had been of since the day before due to an unknown problem and would likely not be fixed until Tuesday.
At 5:30 p.m., a Wauwatosa woman reported that some time since 3:45 p.m. someone had smashed a window in her car and stolen her purse while the car was parked at St. Joseph’s Elementary School, 2750 N. 122 St. The police report noted that an officer had responded to reports of two vehicles broken into at St. Joseph’s, but no details were available on the second incident.
At 4:03 p.m., a Wauwatosa man reported finding a glasses case containing drug paraphernalia including two syringes and other items associated with heroin use outside his apartment building in the 6100 block of West State Street.
At 10:30 a.m., a 22-year-old Milwaukee woman and a 23-year-old Milwaukee man were arrested for theft at , 6950 W. State St., after they were caught trying to steal a bottle of liquor and 11 cans of baby formula. A store security officer suspected them because they had a baby carrier in their shopping cart but no baby. Sure enough, he spotted them concealing the merchandise in the carrier and detained them when they tried to leave the store.
At 5:53 a.m., police were called to the 2200 block of North Mayfair Road on a report of an intoxicated man stumbling in traffic on the thoroughfare. The 22-year-old Shorewood man was arrested on an open warrant for disorderly conduct through the Greenfield Police Department.
Friday
Two women who work at in Mayfair Mall reported that their wallets had been stolen from their purses while they were stored in an unlocked back room at the store during their shifts. They were alerted to the thefts by calls from their credit card companies reporting fraudulent purchases.
At 6:13 p.m., a 16-year-old Milwaukee boy was arrested for theft at at after he was caught by store security trying to steal a Polo hat with a retail value of $39.50. The boy picked up the hat, put it on, pulled up his hood and tried to leave the store. The boy had also been arrested in Wauwatosa in September for disorderly conduct.
At 5:13 p.m., a 16-year-old Milwaukee girl was arrested for theft and trespassing and her sister, an 18-year-old Milwaukee woman, was arrested for theft at Macy’s at Mayfair after they each tried to walk out of the carrying two pairs of jeans. The girl had been banned from Mayfair in November for fighting.
At 4:24 p.m., the manager of , 2265 N. Mayfair Rd., reported that an unknown but familiar woman had just stolen three pairs of boots worth $385 retail. The thefts were spotted on video after the woman left the store, and she was identified as the same suspect seen on video in thefts on Nov. 30 and Dec. 2. She was described as a black woman about 5-foot-6 to 5-foot-7, weighing 250 to 275 pounds, with a dark complexion and short black hair. She typically wears a large gray-and-black shawl with a swirl design.
At 3:04 p.m., a 16-year-old Milwaukee woman was arrested for theft and trespassing at at Mayfair Mall after she tried to steal a $12.50 pair of earrings. She had been banned from the mall for another theft in August 2010.
At 9:48 a.m., a Wauwatosa police officer was dispatched to assist Milwaukee County sheriff’s deputies with a woman reported to have lit herself on fire outside the Regional Medical Center. When it was then reported that she had a knife, the officer was asked if he had with him a “less lethal shotgun” and beanbag rounds for it, which he did. Finding the woman confronting three deputies and refusing to cooperate, he was instructed to fire at her arm. At a range of 30 feet, he fired once at her elbow without effect, then fired again at her shoulder, upon which the woman dropped the knife and was taken into custody. The woman suffered bruises from the shots. There was no mention of any burn injuries or any other evidence that she had tried to set herself on fire.
At 1:15 a.m., a 20-year-old Wauwatosa man was arrested for underage drinking after a resident of the 1000 block of North 121t Street called police to say that someone had been pounding on his door and calling him by his first name. But when he gave his last name, the visitor said, “Oh, I do have the wrong house,” and left. Police found him nearby, intoxicated, with a blood alcohol content of .197.
Thursday
At 7:49 p.m., a 25-year-old West Allis man was arrested for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia after a traffic stop in the 12000 block of North 121st Street.
At 9:25 a.m., a known suspect from a number of earlier thefts at Target stores in the area escaped from the at 3900 N. 124th St. with six Wii controllers worth $239.94 retail. Police reached the suspect by phone and said she admitted the theft and would turn herself in, but she never showed up.
At 9:22 a.m., a 17-year-old Milwaukee boy was arrested for possession of alcohol and marijuana on the grounds of , where he is a student. He and four other students had arrived late for school smelling of marijuana, and police found a bottle of gin and a bag of marijuana in the trunk of the driver’s car.
At 8:30 a.m., a Greenfield man who works at in the Village reported that some time since 7 a.m. someone had smashed the window of his car and stolen his backpack while the car was parked in the municipal lot at 7735 Harwood Ave. His backpack was recovered in the Pick ‘n Save parking lot near the scene of another car break-in (next incident).
At 8:21 a.m., a Milwaukee woman reported that some time since 8 a.m. someone had smashed a window in her car and stolen her purse from it while she was at , 2950 W. State St. The investigating officer noticed that there were no license plates on her car and the owner realized they had been stolen, too.
At 7:45 a.m., a resident of the 7200 block of West Wisconsin Avenue reported that three copper downspouts had been stolen off his house some time overnight.
Wednesday
At 6:01 p.m., an 18-year-old Milwaukee man was arrested for theft and two 20-year-old Milwaukee men were arrested for disorderly conduct at in Mayfair Mall after the younger man was caught by security officers trying to leave the store without paying for three shirts. When he began yelling for help, the other two men arrived and began yelling for their “brother” to be let go. They left briefly but then returned and followed officers inside the store and again began loudly demanding the release of the suspect. They then began shoving the store officers in view of hundreds of frightened holiday shoppers.
At 3:30 a.m., a 23-year-old Milwaukee man was arrested for prowling when he was found at the scene of an attempted auto theft at a residence in the 8100 block of West North Avenue. A neighbor had called police after hearing a car engine turning over and then clicking to a stop, then seeing two or possibly three men pushing a car down the alley. The car was found with damage to the ignition. The 23-year-old man could not be connected to the attempted theft at the scene but is still being investigated.
At 2:04 a.m., a 41-year-old Milwaukee man was arrested for drunken driving, first offense, after a traffic stop for expired plates at North Mayfair Road and West Center Street. He registered a blood alcohol content of .17.
Dec. 20
At 9:15 p.m., a Wauwatosa boy reported that within the past few minutes someone had smashed the window of his car and stolen his backpack from it while it was briefly parked at McDonald’s, 3800 N. 124th St. The Wauwatosa West High student said the only things in the backpack were an English textbook and some school papers.
Two Wauwatosa boys, one 14 and one 15, were arrested for vandalism after two friends arrested the night before implicated them in having slashed large inflatable Santa and Snoopy decorations at a residence in the 2400 block of Lefeber Avenue. Altogether five suspects had been seen after curfew in the Village and chased by a police officer late Monday, and a 15-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy, both of Wauwatosa had been caught. One of the boys arrested Tuesday also admitted to damaging a Mary and Jesus decoration, which hadn’t been reported. The complainant thought it might belong to his neighbor.
A Watertown man reported that some time during the past month someone had cut off and stolen a catalytic converter from a company vehicle that had been parked at Dataline Services, 6900 W. North Ave.
At 8:15 a.m., police arrested two Milwaukee boys, one 12 and one 13 for disorderly conduct after they got into a fight at .
Dec. 19
At 6 p.m., a 16-year-old Milwaukee girl was arrested for theft after she stole a $295 pair of sunglasses from at Mayfair Mall.
At 5:04 p.m., a 29-year-old Milwaukee man was arrested for theft after he stole five circuit breakers worth $326.15 from , 4100 N. 124th St.
At 4:21 p.m., a resident of the 2600 block of North 74th Street reported an attempted burglary when she returned home to find a window broken, but police could find no evidence that any entry was attempted, and the hole in the window was to small to admit anyone.
At 2:38 p.m., a 15-year-old Wauwatosa boy was cited for habitual truancy from after he was reported by school officials to have had 17 unexcused absences so far this year.
At 12:19 p.m., a 24-year-old Milwaukee woman who had been employed at , 3201 N. Mayfair Rd., was arrested for theft after she was seen on video scanning dozens of items worth $588.88 retail for a customer, then rebooting her register and voiding all the sales, scanning a few more items and charging only for those.
At 10:32 a.m., a 17-year-old Wauwatosa boy was arrested for possession of marijuana when he was being searched in connection with the theft of an iPod from a fellow student at the .
At 8:38 a.m., a 15-year-old Wauwatosa girl was cited for habitual truancy from after having missed all or part of 14 school days this year without excuse.
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