A Wauwatosa family suffered the third similar burglary in a week and the second in the same weekend to strike in the city's most northerly neighborhood, west of and north of .
The latest occurred just a few blocks from where a burglar or burglars had hit twice by breaking in through small basement window wells, leaving the homes in disarray after stealing jewelry and electronics.
In this case, a bedroom window was broken in, but in all other respects it resembled those crimes. There was even some evidence, as in the others, that the burglar was decidedly on the small side – he needed a chair to reach the window and climb in.
According to police reports:
A resident of the 4400 block of North 104th Street reported that his home had been burglarized while he and his family were away on a Labor Day weekend getaway.
He said they came home at 5:50 p.m. Monday he found a bedroom window screen had been ripped off and the window smashed, and a lawn chair had been moved underneath it. The door to his attached garage was also open.
He went inside and found drawers open and property strewn around through every room in the house. His wife’s jewelry box and what was left of its contents had been thrown across their bed. Jewelry, watches, a laptop computer and a television set were missing.
The homeowner called Wauwatosa police back later to say that he had found a kitchen window unlocked, and said that it had never been unlocked by any family member. He said he suspected the burglar might have unlocked it to gain entry again.
Last Sunday, a home in the 11000 block of West Ruby Avenue was sunken in a window well, and the previous Monday, Aug. 27, a residence in the 10800 block of West Courtland Avenue .
Both those homes were left a mess, with belongings strewed from cabinets and drawers and boxes, and the same sorts of items were taken.
In the Ruby Avenue burglary, the father, mother, one of their sons and a neighbor each said independently that they had seen a suspicious boy on the street just before the family left at 11:30, and each gave a similar description.
They described the boy as black with a medium complexion, appeared to be only about 12 to 14 years old, was 5-feet 8-inches tall, and thin, about 120 to 130 pounds, with short, light brown, curly hair. He was wearing shorts and a dark blue T-shirt at the time.
