Thief Rams One Car Out the Way to Steal Another

A thief went to unusual lengths to steal a Wauwatosa man's car, pushing another car parked behind it out of the way and into his yard.

The suspect, with the stolen car, was later seen rummaging through the trunk by a witness about 290 blocks to the west, but he realized he was being watched, and by the time police were called, he was long gone again.

About 3:15 a.m. May 29, a man called Wauwatosa police to report suspicious activity at 85th and Clarke streets. He told officers he'd seen a man he did not recognize from the neighborhood standing beside a silver 2012 Ford Taurus with the trunk open.

He parked to see what the man would do, whereupon the subject got into the Taurus and drove off. The suspicious citizen followed slowly as the Ford was driven a few blocks and then returned to the same area, where the driver pulled over again.

When the witness pulled up nearby, the suspicious character was out of the car and tried to hide behind a tree, then came out of hiding with a pen and notebook in his hands, trying look nonchalant, before getting back in the car.

The witness did not have phone with him and took about 20 minutes to get to one at that hour. But he had the license number, and that led police to its registered address in the 2500 block of 66th Street.

When they arrived, they found a damaged Mazda backed up into a tree on the lawn, with lines of black skid marks tracing its path down and off the driveway, showing it had been shoved backward while the wheels were locked.

When the owner was contacted, he verified that the Taurus had been parked in front of the Mazda in his driveway.

The Mazda suffered buckled hood and damage to the front bumper, as well as multiple scratches and some damage to the rear end. To top it off, the tree was injured, too.

As of the last report, the Taurus had not yet been recovered, and police had no suspects.