Police Reports: String of Likely Related Crimes Moves South

A long string of crimes by what now appears to be at least two unknown subjects moved south over the weekend after hitting residents last week and other areas of east Tosa less recently.

At 9:08 p.m. Friday, a resident of the 500 block of North 68th Street reported that someone had entered his unlocked, detached garage and stolen a bicycle.

found two distinct sets of footprints there and also leading up and down driveways and into back yards and garages throughout the block and the 6700 block of West Wisconsin Avenue.

A man who had gotten off a bus overheard the victim and a police officer discussing the matter and told them he had seen a possible suspect riding a bike minutes before.

The witness described the man he saw as black, about 6 feet tall with a heavy build and wearing a dark coat. Police said that suspect’s description and the type of crimes matched a large number of recent incidents in east Tosa.

Most of the crimes actually committed have been fairly minor in nature – unlocked cars and garages entered and property of little to moderate value stolen. However, at least one suspect has been tracked to or seen at the windows of homes as well.

In other recent incidents:

Sunday

At 3:56 p.m., Wauwatosa police arrested a 29-year-old Wauwatosa man at his home in the 7200 block of West Center Street after deputies of the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department asked for assistance in locating and detaining him as a suspect in a theft.

Saturday

At 4:30 p.m., a 23-year-old Kenosha woman was arrested for theft after she concealed and stole six shirts and two skirts from Ragstock at . Police arrived to find her struggling with the Mayfair public safety director outside a mall entrance. She had been halted first by a Ragstock employee but bolted and ran. When police interviewed her, she told them she was “a junkie” and that no one would understand what she was doing. (Actually, most people would understand that she was stealing merchandise to sell to feed her drug addiction.)

At 12:38 p.m., police were called to a residence in the 6300 block of West Wisconsin Avenue on a report that copper downspouts had been stolen from the home. Caretakers for the vacant house arrived to shovel snow and found all of one and part of another of the downspouts gone.

At 9:20 a.m., a resident of the 9900 block of West North Avenue called police to report that his home had been broken into and property stolen. He said he had spent the night out with his girlfriend and when he came home found his television set missing. Looking further, he found his Apple laptop computer and charger and two pairs of 3D glasses gone. Police found fresh footprints in the snow leading to and from a back patio door that has a faulty latch and cannot be locked.

At 8:14 a.m., a resident of the 2400 block of North 65th Street reported that overnight someone had entered his unlocked car in the alley behind his home and stolen a GPS unit.

Friday

At 2:45 p.m., a 17-year-old Milwaukee boy was arrested for possession of marijuana at after the drug was found in his locker during a search of some 270 lockers using K-9 drug-sniffing officer Addy. Addy “indicated” on the boy’s locker, his handler said, and a .735-gram bag of marijuana was found in a book bag inside.

Thursday

At 8:52 p.m., a Wauwatosa woman reported that a window had been smashed in her car and property stolen while she was dining at