Police Reports: New Resident Finds Motel Room Rifled While He Bathed

In separate incidents reported last Wednesday, guests at two Wauwatosa lodgings had property stolen from their rooms – one of them while he was in his suite taking a shower.

Unbeknownst to him, the lock on his door didn't work.

The man, a short-term resident of , 11121 W. North Ave., reported that between 7 and 7:30 p.m., while he was showering, someone got into his room and stole his laptop computer, wallet and checkbook.

Police looking for evidence of how the room could have been entered found that the door latch was defective, and that even though it sounded as though it clicked into position when closed, the door could simply be pushed open.

Before the victim could cancel his debit card, it had already been used at three Milwaukee locations.

It was a rude welcome to the Milwaukee area for the man and his wife, who had only been in the Extended Stay a couple of days while they are starting new jobs here and looking for a permanent residenence.

Later that night, a Menomonie woman reported that between 7:30 a.m. and 9:30 p.m., while she, her husband and two friends were at the Wisconsin State Fair, someone rifled her luggage in their room at the , 115 N. Mayfair Rd., and stole two pieces of jewelry.

The room had been serviced during the day, and management and police were trying to reach the housekeeper who had been assigned to the victim's room.

In other recent incidents:

Saturday

A 78-year-old Wauwatosa man was arrested for battery after he got into an argument with the caretaker of a neighboring vacant property in the 10900 block of West Wisconsin Avenue and hit him in the head. There had been a history of difficulties over the location of the lot line, and the assailant admitted that he had been “stupid” to let it get out of hand. The victim did not need medical attention.

Friday

A Wauwatosa resident reported that between 7:30 and 10:15 p.m. her apartment in The Reserve, 6100 W. State St., was broken into and property belonging to her and her boyfriend was stolen. She had come home to find the door standing open and clothing, watches, jewelry and a video game console missing. Police found that a screen outside an open window had been punctured and removed to gain entry. The woman said she suspected an acquaintance of her boyfriend’s who had visited a couple of times recently.

At 4:11 p.m., a 25-year-old Milwaukee woman was arrested for theft after she tried to leave at with two pairs of jeans worth $428.50 hidden in her purse. She also had a warrant from the Brown Deer Police Department.

At 3:58 p.m., a Mukwonago man reported that some time since 2 p.m. while he was at , 2201 N. Mayfair Rd., someone smashed a window in his car. Nothing was missing from the vehicle.

Thursday

At 2:03 p.m., a 20-year-old Milwaukee woman was arrested for theft after she was seen putting items into a foil-lined bag in her purse at in Mayfair Mall. She was found to have been banned from the mall and to be on probation for retail theft. She had five prior theft arrests on her record dating just to November. She was subsequently banned from all Gap stores “forever.”

A 21-year-old Fort Atkinson man was arrested for drunken driving after a caller reported him speeding and driving erratically at 2:04 a.m. on Menomonee River Parkway. When police caught up, the man was on West Burleigh Street going 55 in a 35 mile-per-hour zone. The man said he had drunk only a couple of beers but he performed poorly on sobriety tests and blew a .15 blood alcohol content on an evidentiary breath test.

Last Wednesday

A resident of the 2400 block of North 70th Street reported that overnight someone had entered her unlocked vehicle in her driveway and stolen a GPS unit.

Aug. 7

At 3:29 p.m., police responded to a call from a resident who said he had just seen a boy, one of a group of five, throw a bicycle into the Menomonee River from the North 70th Street bridge. Police could not find the boys, but they found the bike and recovered it from the stream. It had not been reported stolen at that time.

A resident of an apartment in the 1200 block of North 62nd Street reported that overnight someone had broken into his truck while it was parked in the building’s lot and had stolen a factory-installed DVD player and other electronics, also causing about $1,000 damage to the vehicle. Police found the door had been pried open.

At 2:44 a.m., a resident of the 8200 block of Brookside Place reported that a copper downspout had just been stolen off his house. He said he had been in his upstairs bedroom and had heard a rattling sound outside. He looked out his window and saw a strange car parked in front of his house. He went downstairs and looked out his front window to see a man standing in his front yard. The suspect ran to the car and drove off when the homeowner stepped out to confront him. He then discovered that a 20-foot downspout was missing. Five other copper downspouts had been stolen from the home on July 31.

Aug. 6

At 9:22 p.m., a 30-year-old Milwaukee man was arrested for drunken driving, first offense, after a patrol officer saw him driving without headlights and followed to see him crossing the center line repeatedly on Swan Boulevard and then turning without signaling onto Harding Boulevard. The officer learned from dispatchers that the car had been involved in a hit-and-run a short time earlier and he noted minor front-end damage. The driver failed sobriety tests and refused to take a breath test or to give a voluntary blood sample. He also refused to submit to a mandatory blood draw and had to be restrained on a hospital bed while handcuffed so that a sample could be taken. As to the hit-and-run, the suspect admitted he had been in a fender bender earlier but would give no further details, and a witness to the accident said that she would not be able to identify the driver.

At 3:45 p.m., a Milwaukee woman, 46, and a Glendale woman, 45, were arrested for theft at at Mayfair Mall after they were caught trying to leave the store with, respectively, $744.97 and $897.99 worth of merchandise.