Wauwatosa Burglary Leaves Home a Mess, Televisions Missing

Burglars trashed a Wauwatosa home, forcing its vacationing owners  to return to a house with three fewer televisions and roughly $500 worth of damage, according to police reports.

A couple living in the 11000 block of Potter Road in Wauwatosa were surprised to receive a phone call from police about a break-in that occurred at their residence sometime between the evening of Dec. 2 and 3 p.m. Dec. 4. Burglars made off with three televisions from the home totaling $1,700.

The man of the house had been out of town for several weeks and his wife had gone to meet him in Waupaca the evening of Dec. 2. 

Police noticed the burglary after a neighbor called to report a suspicious flashlight found in his back yard. The neighbor noted a gate connecting his home and his neighbors’ was also open, after he had closed it the day before. He found that strange, as he knew his neighbor was out of town for the holidays.

The residents told police that neighbors, landscapers and a carpenter knew they would be out of town, but they did not suspect any of them would have committed the burglary.

Upon entering the neighbor’s home, police found a mess.

The police report on the incident categorized the damage done to the house:

•  Muddy shoe prints on carpeting in living room, master bedroom, extra bedroom and in the hallway.
•  Mud on the wall and a lamp on the floor under a broken bedroom window.
•  Drawers left open throughout the house
•  Damage to a wall in the master bedroom and a television missing.
•  Pictures knocked to the floor in the living room.

Additionally, police found a wrench left on the bed in the master bedroom that police suspect was used to unbolt a television from the wall and a flathead screwdriver with drywall on the tip.

Police also found mud and grass on a backyard fence and a landscaping paver in the rear yard near the broken window. There was also broken glass scattered over the laan around the broken window.

Police found more evidence than footprints. They recovered a Subway receipt left at the scene, possibly by one of the burglars. Residents of the home said they do occasionally eat at Subway but don’t often keep the receipts.

Surveillance tapes from the Subway location recorded at the time of the purchase showed a thin-to-medium build white male wearing a brown leather bomber-style jacket making a purchase. 

The man had brown hair, sideburns and the start of a bald spot.