Palm Print Leads to Robbery Charge in 6-Year-Old Case

A 32-year-old Madison man is accused of robbing a Wauwatosa tanning salon six years ago, after a palm print he left at the scene came back to haunt him.

Jason Stahelski was charged May 28 in Milwaukee County Circuit Court with one count of robbery with threat of force. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years imprisonment, $50,000 in fines, or both.

According to the criminal complaint:

On May 25, 2007, at about 5:10 p.m., police say Stahelski walked into Heavenly Tan and Spa, 6230 W. North Ave., and told an employee to hand over the money in the cash register.

"Give me the money if you don’t want to get hurt,” he told the employee, after she asked him why he was robbing the spa, according to the court documents. 

The employee began putting the cash into a grey plastic bag Stahelski supplied, until he reached across the counter, grabbed more cash along with the plastic bag and fled the store, the criminal complaint reads. 

Authorities say Stahelski left a palm print on the spa’s counter when he reached over, which law enforcement were able to collect as evidence. However, at the time investigators could find no match for the print in any crime database.

But that changed after Stahelski was charged and convicted in another crime, Wauwatosa police said. His prints were checked and the Tosa robbery raised a red flag.

Stahelski is currently at large; an arrest warrant has been issued.