Hello Everyone.

 

January is the time of year when reassignments take place.  We have many officers, detectives and sergeants who chose to stay in the East District this year.  We also have a number of officers coming to our District from other assignments.  The officers, detectives and sergeants assigned to East District this year are an excellent group of employees.  I am confident that they well provide a quality service to the residents of the East Side. 

 

(Note from webmaster:  Please check the Contact Information on the webpage for the latest East Police District Assignments.)

 

Residential Burglaries

  • 2100 Oakridge, 12/23-12/25. One wrapped present discovered missing from under tree.  House was always occupied, but was unlocked.  Taken: MP3 Player.
  • 1700 Blossom La. on 1/9/03, between 6am-10:50am.  Apt. door damaged and locking mechanism removed.  Playstation w/ add'l parts and cash taken.

 

Commercial Burglaries

  • Mobil Mart, 6410 Mill Pond Rd. on 01/02/03 at 0045.  Officers responded to alarm.  Front door shattered, suspect fled prior to arrival.  Taken: 15 cartons of Newport cigs. and 40-60 Zippo lighters

 

Thefts

  • Theft from Auto, 100 Belmont, 12/13 overnight, CD player and burned CD's labeled: Natty Nation Live.  CD case found discarded a few blocks away.
  • Theft from Auto from 400 N. Walbridge Ave between 12/20-12/29/02.  Window pried;  Sony stereo taken.
  • Theft from Auto at 5000 Twin Oaks Dr. on 12/20/02 overnight.  Cell phone, portable CD player taken from unlocked auto parked in driveway.
  • Attempted Theft from auto, 1000 Glacier Hill, 12/22 @ 9:40p.  Resident heard car doors slam.  Looked out & saw 2 males in resident's unlocked car.  When resident went outside, males were in resident's other unlocked car.  The suspects fled in a dark green or blue car, possibly a Lumina.  Suspects: both m/b, 15, 5'8", 150, one w/ Raiders grey parka, one w/ NC blue parka.
  • Theft from vehicle, 5200 Turner Av., 12/23 overnight, 2 vehicles in driveway broken into.  Taken: cell phones, cameras, wallet.
  • Theft from auto, 4200 Commercial, Bullseye, 12/26 overnight.  Window broken. 
  • Theft from Auto at 200 N. Thompson Dr. between 1/7/03 - 1/8/03.  Vehicle door pried and lock removed; Pioneer stereo and kickbox from trunk taken.
  • Theft from Auto at 3400 Milwaukee St. between 1/8/03 at 4pm - 1/9/03 at 4pm.  Pried window; Alampro speakerbox, Orion amp, and 120 CD's.
  • Theft from Auto at Park & Ride, 13 Collins Ct. between 1/9/03 - 1/11/03.  Door pried and window smashed; Pioneer stereo taken.

 

Damage to Property

  • Damaged door at 5300 Severn Way on 12/19/02.  Victim found hole (3/8") in garage door that appeared to be a bullet hole.
  • Graffiti to Olbrich warming house, 2 equipment garages, and Garver main bldg.  Occurred between 3:30p on 12/23 and 8am 12/24.  25 tags painted on various buildings.
  • Rock thrown at passing car, 10 S. Stoughton, 12/26, 1:20am, near pedestrian bridge.

 

Suspicious Vehicle

 

Vehicle was seen at 5000 Major Ave on 1/12/03 at 9:30pm.  Caller advises she has observed the vehicle parked in 5000 blk of Major Ave. near the dead end 3-4 times over past week.  Vehicle has parking lights on and is occupied by 2 white males, wearing  stocking caps.    Vehicle description:  '91 Pontiac, Firebird, red, WI 334ABH.   Vehicle left area prior to police arrival.

 

Escapees Taken into Custody 

 

On Jan. 9, officers were sent to the area of the Swiss Colony to look for 2 men who appeared to be suspicious.  The men were not wearing coats and were wearing what the caller described as "prison issue boots".   Officers searched the area but could not locate the men.  A few hours later, we received a call from a resident on Melvin Ct.  She also noticed the men because they were dressed inappropriately for the weather.  She also noticed that the men were sitting on a neighbor's front step and she had not seen the men associated with that neighbor.  The resident would not have called police, except she happened to turn on the news and see the news story about the escapees.  Thanks to her call, officers surrounded the area and took the escapees into custody just as they were being picked up by a friend.  Great job by all of the officers.

 

Burglars Arrested

 

On Jan. 7, at 1pm, an alert neighbor saw 3 juveniles loitering by a nearby house.  The juveniles’ actions and the time of day caused the neighbor to become suspicious of their actions and call the police. Officers Hornbeck, Lewis and Morovic responded to the 10 block of Walter St. where they saw 2 juveniles coming out of the house.  The juveniles were contacted and stated they knew the teenager who lived there.  Upon checking the house, the officers located another juvenile hiding in a closet. None of the residents were home.  All of the juveniles had stolen items in their possession, including jewelry, CD's, a cell phone and loose change.  The juveniles eventually admitted that one of them had crawled in an unlocked window and unlocked the door for the other two.  All three were charged with burglary and taken to Juvenile Detention.  Two are 14 yrs old and one is 15. 

 

Strong Arm Robbery

 

Kohl's, 2525 E. Washington, 12/27 @ 9:10p.  A 55 yr old woman was in the parking lot when 2 suspects tried to grab her purse.  They only got a bag of groceries. The suspects fled the area.  The suspects were males, unknown race, 12-17, 5'10"- 6', thin, wearing dark hooded sweatshirts.

 

Suspicious Person

 

Occurred at 100 Buckingham on 12/14.  A white female, 30's, blonde permed hair, 5'6", came to door and asked resident for $17 for a cab to get back to Monroe.  Stated she fled house to get away from abusive husband.  When the resident said she had no case, the female thanked her and left.

 

13 yr old Driver Arrested

 

On Dec. 30, a citizen called to report a very young child driving a van near Wallbridge and Milwaukee.  Off. Dailey located the van and contacted the driver who turned out to be 13 yrs old.  The boy had taken his mother's vehicle without her knowledge.  He was charged with Driving Without a License, Operating a Motor Vehicle Without Owner's Consent and Obstructing a Police Officer (for lying to the officer).

 

Assist to Monona Police on Stabbing

 

On Dec. 29, at 6:15 pm, several of our officers responded to Wendy's at 1202 E. Broadway in Monona to assist Monona officers with a stabbing.  Officers Ryan Orvis and Anh Sweeney took statements from witnesses.  The information obtained by these officers was instrumental in identifying the suspect.  Later that night, just before midnight, Monona requested our assistance with contacting the suspect who lived in Madison on Swanton Rd.  It is routine for an outside agency to involve the local agency when taking action in the local agency's jurisdiction.  Sgt. Dave Compton coordinated our assistance which resulted in arresting the suspect and executing a search warrant leading to the recovery of evidence. Great job by all of the officers involved.  This is only one example of the many times our officers and Monona officers come together to assist each other.  Great job by everyone involved.

 

Burglar Interrupted

 

On Jan. 11 at 5:25p, the residents of a house on Ellenwood Ct. were watching TV in the basement when they heard a loud noise upstairs.  The husband began walking upstairs when he saw a white male coming down the stairs into the basement.  The male turned and fled up the stairs and out of the residence, running toward E. Washington Av.  It appears the person kicked in the front door, breaking the glass and the lock in the storm door.

 

A Day in the Life of an Officer

 

I thought you would like to see what one East officer did on a recent Friday evening.  The times shown to the left are the time the officer was dispatched and the time the officer finished the call. The officer started work at 2pm.

  • 2:12 p. - 3:12 p   Dispatched to an accident at 51 & Buckeye.
  • 3:13 p. - 3:44 p   Took report of threatening letter sent to woman.
  • 3:46 p. - 4:27 p   Took report of missing prescription drugs.
  • 4:33 p. - 4:51 p   Person found money, personal papers and other items in road. Possibly fell off roof of moving vehicle.
  • 5:35 p. - 6:04 p   Another person turned in items found earlier at above location.
  • 6:06 p. - 6:21 p   Assist another officer on a traffic stop of vehicle that was smoking from underneath.
  • 6:33 p. - 7:14 p   Return phone call from owner of items found in road.
  • 7:14 p. - 7:30 p   Report of something burning in median of Portland Pkwy
  • 8:14 p. - 8:15 p   911 hang up at pay phone.  Another officer handled it.
  • 8:54 p. - 9:26 p   Traffic stop.
  • 9:36 p. - 9:43 p   Checked area for vehicle reported driving recklessly.  Vehicle was not located.

 

The officer's shift ended at 10 pm.

 

Take note of the time between when the officer cleared from one call and was sent on another.  In many instances it was just a matter of a few minutes.  Also of interest, the above times do not include the time the officer spent doing reports on the incidents.  The reports have to be done between calls.

 

Traffic Enforcement

 

Off. Veatch reports the following traffic enforcement during the week of Jan 6.

  • Hwy 12/18....... 8 citations, 1 warning
  • 4100-4300 Hwy 30......1 citation
  • 100 Dempsey......3 citations, 3 warnings
  • 800-900 N. Fair Oaks Av....1 citation, 2 warnings
  • 2900-3200 Milwaukee St....1 citation
  • 400-700 Pflaum Rd......1 citation, 2 warnings
  • 100-200 S. Stoughton Rd.....1 citation, 2 warnings
  • 1000-1300 N. Thompson Dr.......1 citation, 2 warnings
  • E. Washington Av.......3 citations, 2 warnings

 

Phone Scam- Third Party Pay Call

 

An incident was recently reported to the North District.  "Mrs. N" will be used to protect the victim's identity.  Mrs N answered the telephone early one morning (around 1:30am) and was greeted by an operator who asked her if she would accept the charges for call.  She then said, I don't understand because no name had been given.   The operator then said the first names of her daughter and son in law.  She panicked thinking something was wrong and said yes, believing she was going to talk to them.  She ended up holding a voiceless telephone wondering what was going on.  She hung up and, although she was very worried, tried to get back to sleep.  About 30 minutes later she received another call and was told the first call didn't go through.  The operator told her another call was being placed and asked if she would authorize the same request.  This time Mrs. N said no.  Mrs N remained on the phone and spoke with the helpful operator who tried to explain what was going on. The operator mentioned to her that someone was committing fraud to make these calls using her home number to pay for the calls.  The operator then added that the scam is done in the middle of night when you are not thinking clearly.

 

She reported this suspicious telephone call to her phone company and they told her it was a popular scam where she had approved a collect call to a casino in Henderson, Nevada.  The bill amount was $33.  Mrs N believes the suspect read a recent news article on her daughters wedding and looked up their phone number in the directory.  She discussed the incident with a very helpful customer service representative and was told that she would not be responsible for the bill.  She was told, if you get a charge for this call, notify us and we'll take care of it. Mrs. N got her name and thanked her.  End of story, was what Mrs N. thought. 

 

In checking her regular monthly bill, Mrs N discovered the $33 charge.   She called the telephone company back and was referred to a supervisor. The supervisor told Mrs N. she was responsible for the $33 charge as it was made from a payphone.  When Mrs N mentioned she had spoken to a helpful service representative she was told that employee had been reprimanded for telling her she would not be responsible for the charge. 

 

We advised her to file reports with police then with the PSC.  Mrs N believes that people should be told if the call is a collect call to them from a person or if it a third party pay call.  That would make too much sense.

 

That's all for now.  Keep warm.   Be careful.  Be safe.

 

Jill