Stripped Mall – Macy's Mannequin Disrobed in Theft, Police Say

It's so important when shopping to know that the clothes you select are going to fit right and look good on you – that's what fitting rooms and mirrors are for.

Or, if you're in rather a hurry, maybe that's what mannequins are for.

A teenager who had already surreptitiously bagged a few items Monday at Macy's in Mayfair Mall grew bold as he concluded his browsing, when he stripped a vest and shirt off a mannequin and headed for the door, according to a police report.

The 17-year-old Milwaukee boy was arrested after a Macy's security officer, who had been watching him from the beginning, stopped him just outside and escorted him back in to await Wauwatosa police.

Just before 5:30 p.m., the security guard, monitoring store cameras, noticed the boy acting furtively and decided to track him, she told police. 

First, the boy took a T-shirt from a clearance display over to a brand name section and set it carefully on top of a neat stack of shirts there — which the watching agent thought strange. He wandered off briefly, then returned and together picked up the clearance shirt and one beneath it and stuck them both in a bag, crouching down to try to avoid being seen.

He now had the guard's full attention as he went to another section, took a pair of black pajama pants off a shelf and put them in the bag.

And finally, to the amazement of the watching officer, he walked up to a mannequin that had a Polo shirt and vest on it, took them off the mannequin and bagged them, too.

The boy headed for an exit but was detained the moment he stepped out. According to the police report, he was cooperative and compliant as he was taken to the loss-prevention office.

The $426.50 worth of clothing he had tried to snag was undamaged and returned to the store for sale.

The boy made no statement, and after he was booked in the Mayfair booking room, police asked for his mother's phone number. He gave them a number, which they called several times with no answer. Eventually, a man picked up and said, "Who the (expletive) is this?" When told it was the Wauwatosa police, he hung up.

Because the boy was also now banned from the mall, the arresting officer walked him out of the mall to the county bus stop and warned him not to return — and to please have his mother call them when he got home.