Two on Cleaning Crew Cleared Out Property, Police Say

A man and woman from Milwaukee who worked for a cleaning company took out more than the trash from several Wauwatosa businesses, according to a police investigation, and they are now charged with a variety of crimes.

Darius Termaine Walker, 21, and Angela Rena Carnes, 47, were charged last week in Milwaukee County Circuit Court; Walker with felony forgery and two counts of possession of stolen property; Carnes with one misdemeanor count of theft.

Their cases were separated because, so to speak, they separated their partnership when police uncovered their cleaning scheme. Each has blamed the other for the most serious of the crimes police say they committed.

According to the criminal complaints:

Reports of thefts began to trickle in from businesses all in the 2300 N. Mayfair Rd. commercial building in early May 2012

On May 11, a woman at the law offices of Brusky Sjostrom & Alberts SC called police after she was alerted that someone had unsuccessfully tried three times to use a company credit card she kept at the office. The card was gone, and she said she had used it just two days before.

Police immediately checked on the cleaning company and learned that five cleaners had worked May 9 and 10. Among them were Walker and Carnes.

On May 18, an optician at Suson Eye Specialists reported the theft of two pairs of eyeglasses, one the night of May 15, one the night of May 17, from racks in the office. The optician said that at the end of every business day she checks the inventory on the racks, and she noticed the missing glasses first thing on those mornings.

Three cleaners had worked the night of May 17. One was Carnes.

On June 7, an employee of Capital Title and Closing Services reported that someone had tried unsuccessfully to cash a company check at a bank in Germantown. Looking into it, she found that two checks had been stolen, along with her rubber name stamp. The second check had been successfully cashed at a bank in Butler.

That check was made out to Darius Walker.

On June 19, Kepa Services reported the overnight theft of a laptop computer. A company officer tracked its activity through "E-Blaster" and found emails from mr.walker@gmail.com to Chase Bank asking for credit card account information. The activity log also showed Darius Walker accessing pornographic websites.

Angela Carnes had been working in the building that night.

Armed with all that information, Wauwatosa police on June 21 executed a search warrant at Walker's residence and found:

• A ring of keys including one that would open every office in the 2300 Mayfair building;
• A Wells Fargo record showing a $5,500 check cashed June 19 (it would prove to be from Capital Title, made out to Walker, signed with the stolen signature stamp);
• The Sony Vaio laptop belonging to Kepa Services;
• The Brusky et. al. law office's credit card and three more Capital Title checks, found in the rafters of the basement laundry room;
• One blank check from yet another 2300 Mayfair business, not reported missing;
• A credit card and yet more checks from Capital Title, not reported missing; and
• Three more Capital Title checks in Walker's car.

Walker would claim that Carnes had stolen all the property from the offices and turned over the key and checks to him. The idea was that they would split proceeds from the checks, and that he would buy other stolen property from her with his cut. He said he'd paid her $50 for the computer, for instance. He admitted cashing two Capital Title checks.

Walker called Carnes a close friend.

Carnes, though, admitted to only two small thefts of property, using her own universal key for the building – a pair of glasses and a belt from yet another business not previously named. She immediately called her daughter and had her bring in the two items to turn over to police.

Carnes said that Walker had been fired for slacking and said she was only acquainted with him from the crew, not a close friend.

Carnes appeared believable in most regards – except that the owner of Suson Eye Specialists identified the returned eyeglasses as hers, not from some other office, and she was still missing a pair.

Walker stuck to his story that Carnes had committed all the thefts, but then, for some reason, he slipped up. Without even being asked, he told police that in fact he had entered and stolen from, yes, yet another 10th-floor business.

He'd stolen two pairs of Haggar dress slacks, he said. Detectives checked his home again, found the pants, and returned them to their rightful owner.