Police Reports: Sisters' Needs Now Being Met as Guests of the State

Police were seeking a 49-year-old Milwaukee woman on suspicion of fraud after the human resources manager for Celestial Caregivers, 12201 W. North Ave., reported Thursday that the she had submitted suspect claims.

Celestial matches up home caregivers with those in need of help maintaining independent living, and where possible enlists close relatives in the expectation that they will already be imbued with familial compassion.

Caregivers are reimbursed for their time through accepted insurers, including Medicaid. Celestial staffers make visits to interview both caregivers and clients to ensure that needs are being met.

The woman in question was the assigned caregiver for her 61-year-old sister.

But a routine call to schedule a home visit was deemed unnecessary by the caregiver/sister, who announced that her charge had been arrested the day before.

A simple records check revealed that she had indeed been arrested, but not the day before – rather, more than a month before.

The caregiver had submitted claims on time cards for 33 days of care while her sister was actually in jail for a probation violation.

The suspect had cashed checks totaling $1,507.50 on claims of five-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week care for her incarcerated sister.

In other incidents:

Sunday

At 11:45 p.m., a patrol officer spotted four boys out after curfew, two on bicycles and two on foot, in the 7200 block of West State Street. He attempted to stop them, but they fled. Three of the boys, 11, 14 and 16 years old, were quickly rounded up and found to be runaways from , 9501 Watertown Plank Rd. The boys on bikes admitted they were stolen from outside apartments near St. Charles. The fourth boy, no age given, was found later Monday morning. All were returned to St. Charles without further action.

At 11:55 p.m., a 19-year-old Milwaukee woman was arrested for retail theft at at after she was caught leaving the store with seven items unpaid for worth $257.50 retail value.

A resident in the 1100 block of Glenview Avenue reported that between 5:15 and 5:45 a.m. someone entered his open garage and stole a bicycle. A suspect in another burglary reported in the same block was seen riding away on a bike of the same description, and the bike was later found abandoned and was returned to the owner. Details on the second burglary had not yet been approved for release to the public.

At 2:28 a.m., a 37-year-old Milwaukee man was arrested for drunken driving, second offense, after a patrol officer pulled him over for having an invalid registration. The man admitted he had been drinking, repeatedly lost his balance during a field sobriety test and registered a .13 blood alcohol content on a breath test. He had been arrested for OWI his first time in March 2010.

Saturday

At 2:59 p.m., a 17-year-old Milwaukee girl was arrested for retail theft at , 3201 N. Mayfair Rd., after she tried to steal 11 articles of baby clothing. She said she was nine months pregnant and was stealing the clothes for her baby.

At 12:55 p.m., a resident of the 1300 block of North 74th Street reported that someone had broken the side mirror of his car, and a neighbor said she had witnessed the vandalism. She said she happened to be looking out the window when a vehicle she thought was a gray Chrysler Pacifica with tinted windows drove by. She said that a teenager leaned out the rear passenger side window and smacked the victim’s mirror with a baseball bat.

At 10:12 a.m., a 62-year-old Milwaukee man was arrested for retail theft at , 6700 W. State. St., after he tried walked out without paying for a $12 German chocolate cake. Asked if he wished to make a statement, the man said, “I took the cake. It was stupid and wrong. I’m sorry for wasting your time, officers.”

A resident of the 9000 block of Jackson Park Boulevard reported that overnight someone had egged her house and had broken a window with one of the thrown eggs.

Friday

At 3:59 p.m., a 33-year-old Waukesha woman was arrested for retail theft at the Zumiez store in Mayfair Mall after she was spotted carrying a foil-lined bag. She was found to have $184 worth of merchandise stashed in the bag.

At 11:38 p.m., a 17-year-old Milwaukee girl was arrested for retail theft and a 19-year-old Milwaukee woman was arrested for retail theft, bail jumping and being a fugitive at , 3900 N. 124th St., after they were recognized from prior thefts, were watched and were seen concealing hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise in bags. The 19-year-old was found to have two open warrants and three pending cases for retail theft. The 17-year-old had three prior retail theft arrests.