Police Reports: Woman Caught Stealing from Goodwill Store

Saying she needed clothing for herself and the 7-year-old niece in her care, a woman targeted for shoplifting an organization devoted to helping the poor.

At 1:37 p.m. Friday, a 50-year-old Milwaukee woman was arrested for retail theft after she was caught trying to steal 12 articles of clothing from the store at 12121 W. Feerick St.

She was seen entering the store with a large empty purse, took the clothing into a fitting room, then emerged with no clothing in her hands and a full purse.

An employee checked the fitting room, and finding no clothing there, stopped her outside the store and recovered the donated merchandise. Most of the items were marked $2.99 or less, with a couple of pieces marked $4.99.

The woman told she was responsible for the care of her young niece because her sister was in prison, that she had no money and needed some clothing for the girl and herself.

She told officers she knew what she was doing was wrong and that she was ashamed of herself.

In other recent incidents:

Monday

At 1 a.m., a New Berlin woman reported that at some time since 11:20 p.m. Sunday someone smashed the front passenger window in her car and stole her purse and a sweatshirt while it was parked in the overflow lot at , 10842 Blue Mound Rd. Her purse contained cash, credit cards and her driver’s license. The woman called police back at 3 a.m. to report that she had learned her bank card had been used four times between midnight and 12:48 a.m. at gas stations in Milwaukee.

Sunday

A resident of the 7300 block of Harwood Avenue reported the theft of a one-third carat diamond ring from a jewelry box in her bedroom some time since May 14, the last time she remembered seeing it. She said she has had her home listed for sale and that while she was out of town from Thursday through Sunday, there had been 10 showings of the home by multiple realtors. She said that when she returned she found cabinet doors standing open, various items misplaced and her ring gone.

At 3:29 p.m., a clerk at Radio Shack, 6407 W. North Ave., reported a grab-and-run theft of a printer by an unknown man. She told police the man had walked in and asked to see color printers, and after a cell phone conversation with someone, he had briefly left the store, returned, picked up a printer and headed for the door. The clerk said she asked, “Where are you going?” and the man replied, “I got to go, baby,” and went out the door. Her manager saw the man run to a waiting black SUV. The clerk described the thief as black, 6 feet 2 inches tall, from 170 to 200 pounds, with a thin build, a medium brown complexion and short black hair. She said he had two gold teeth on the right side and wore a large, scruffy goatee.

The manager of , 11017 Blue Mound Rd., reported that between 11:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. at least four unlocked vehicles in the parking lot had been entered and rifled, but none of the owners reported anything of value missing.

A woman with power of attorney for a 84-year-old Wauwatosa resident who is suffering dementia reported to police that she suspected fraud was being committed on her client by her former hairdresser. She had discovered that the elderly woman had written several checks to the other woman, including one for $30,000 and another for $5,000. The presumed victim could not remember writing the checks or why she would have done so. Police were able to contact the suspect, who said she had been far more than a hairdresser to the older woman, she had been a regular caregiver, and that she had been asked back into her home and that the checks were advance payment for six months of caregiving. She had not cashed the checks yet, and police advised her not to do so or have any contact with the woman until they investigated the matter further.

A resident of the 4700 block of North 106th Street reported that some time since Friday night someone had entered his open garage and stolen a 16-inch girl’s mountain bike.

A Wauwatosa woman reported that some time between 2 and 4:50 a.m. someone entered her minivan and stole her purse while she was at the , 115 N. Mayfair Rd., which she reported as her address of residence. She said the van was locked, but police found no signs of forced entry. She called back at 12:45 a.m. Monday to say that while walking her dogs she had found the purse discarded behind a storage unit at the rear of the motel parking lot. Her cash and cards were missing, but none of the card accounts was active.

Saturday

At 6:55 p.m., a Milwaukee woman reported that a window had been smashed out of her car while she was at work at , 2421 N. Mayfair Rd. She found the glove compartment had been rifled, but nothing was missing and all the doors were still locked. Outdoor video surveillance footage showed a maroon sedan of unknown make pulling into the parking lot at 6:46 p.m., and three suspects getting out to case cars in the lot before two of them could be seen approaching the the victim’s car, then leaning through the broken window. The video was not clear enough to get a reliable description of the car or of any of the suspects.

A Milwaukee man reported that some time between 12:45 and 11:50 a.m. someone broke into his car by smashing out a window while it was parked in the lot at the , 2303 N. Mayfair Rd. He said it appeared that nothing was taken.

The owner of , 8520 W. North Ave., reported that some time overnight someone had attempted to break into the business. He said that he arrived at 8:20 a.m. and tried to enter the rear door using a key. The lock would not operate, and he then noticed damage to the door. The police found obvious pry marks around the bolt.

Friday

At 1:22 p.m., a 48-year-old Milwaukee man was arrested for retail theft at , 3900 N. 124th St., after he was seen selecting two boxes of baby bottles and one box of breast pump bags and then going directly to the customer service counter to attempt a fraudulent return for cash.

A resident of the 4400 block of North 100th Street reported that overnight someone had entered his unlocked garage and stolen three bicycles, opening the overhead doors in the process. The homeowner said that although noises were heard from outside at about 1:30 a.m., no one in the home investigated.

Thursday

A resident of the 11000 block of West Hope Avenue reported that some time during the day two bicycles had been stolen from her garage, which had been open most of the time as members of the family came and went. A neighbor boy told her his bike had also been stolen while he was at , 4515 N. Mayfair Rd., and that he had seen someone riding a bike that matched the description of hers – a purple women’s bike – from the church parking lot. He said the suspect had ridden away down the bike path along the Menomonee River. He described the suspect as a black boy, 14 to 15 years old, 5-feet 7-inches tall with a thin build, and said he believed he would recognize him if he saw him again.

At 9:55 p.m., two 17-year-old Milwaukee boys were arrested for retail theft after they were caught by police at who were seeking them on reports of thefts of sunglasses from and .