Hello everyone!  There were so many exciting arrests and interesting incidents that have happened in the last 2 weeks, that I decided to send this newsletter out a little earlier than usual.  Here's the rundown. 

Residential Burglaries

  • B&E at 4200 Dempsey Rd. on 1/15/03 overnight. Unlocked garage entered; $1000 in various tools taken.

Commercial Burglaries

  • Attempted B&E at Jenk's Service Center, 2318 S. Stoughton Rd. on 1/18/03 at 2am. Alarm set off by suspect trying to unlock door by reaching through the mail slot on the front door.
  • Attempted B&E at Citgo Gas, 3505 E. Washington Ave on 1/19/03 early AM. Delivery person reported finding a window broken out. Opening did not appear large enough for entry.

Thefts

  • Theft of security radio from Sennett Middle School. Dec 19-Jan 6. Taken from open office.
  • Theft from Auto at Paint Doctor, 4806 E. Braodway between 1/5/03-1/8/03. Vehicle for service parked in rear had the door lock punched out to gain entry. Alpine 5 channel amp, JL subwoofers and speaker box taken.
  • Theft from Auto at 400 Shearwater St. on 1/13/03 overnight. Vehicle in driveway left unlocked. Suspect accessed trunk and stole silv. Getz trumpet in blue canvas carrying case.
  • Theft from auto, Park & Ride, Discovered 1/15 @ 4p. Radio taken. Owner not available to be contacted.
  • Theft from Auto at 200 N. Thompson Dr. on 1/16/03. Window broken out; boxes found in lot next to vehicle. Owner was using vehicle for storage; unsure what is missing at this time.
  • Theft at Holiday Inn, 3841 E. Washington Ave. on 1/17/03 between 8:30pm-4:50am. Taken off vehicle parked in lot were 4 sets of chrome eight spoke rims and Goodyear 33" tires (value $7000).
  • Theft from Auto at 800 Pinewood Ct on 1/22/03 between 12:30p-1:45pm. Window broken out; radar detector taken.

Damage to Property

  • Damaged Autos at LaFollette HS on 1/21/03 overnight. Nine vehicles parked in lot near auto mechanics section overnight were damaged (broken windows, slashed tires, etc.). There had been a LaFollette vs Memorial boys BB game the evening of the 21st.

Watch Those Purses!

Please use extra care with your purses while shopping. We recently had 2 cases where purses were stolen while their owners were shopping at Woodman's. In one case, several checks were written for several thousand dollars. A female suspect was recently arrested, but not before she damaged the victim's credit rating and caused an incredible amount of work for the victim.

In one case, the purse was only a few feet from the victim when it was taken. Since the suspect was a woman, it did not look suspicious to see her walk away carrying a purse.

Another Purse Thief Arrested

A customer and employee of the Rebecca Lynn Salon on Milwaukee St. were in the back of the salon when they heard the front door open. They did not find anyone inside, but noticed the customer's purse was missing. They looked outside and saw a man walking away with the purse. When they tried to contact him, he threw the purse under a nearby car and left the area. Off. Dailey began checking area businesses and located the suspect at the Burger King. Arrested was: Robert Herron, 42, No permanent address.

Theft from Auto Suspect Arrested

On Jan. 15, shortly before midnight, Officers Mike Schroedl and Ko Vang were sent to the 200 Blk of N. Thompson Dr. reference 2 males acting suspiciously in the parking lot. When the officers arrived, they found that the caller had chased the suspects and had one of them pinned to the ground. This suspect was found to have a stolen item on his person. He is a 16 year old male who does not live on the East side. The other suspect was not located. Great job by the officers and the citizens who noticed the activity and called police.

More Theft from Auto Suspects Arrested

On 1-22-03 at 12:45 am two residents of the 1100 blk of MacArthur saw 3 males drive into the parking lot, exit their vehicle and start shining flashlights into several parked cars. The residents immediately called police and continued to watch the suspects. While waiting for police to arrive, the residents heard breaking glass. Several officers responded and parked a short distance away. As they quietly approached the lot, they saw the suspects near a car and heard breaking glass. When the suspects spotted the officers, 2 of them ran and were chased down and taken into custody. The 3rd suspect was located hiding between some cars. The 3 men had stolen from 4 vehicles and were charged with possession of burglarious tools, entry into locked vehicles, theft and resisting arrest. The men admitted to these thefts and some additional thefts in another jurisdiction. Several stereos and CD cases full of CD's were found in the suspect's vehicle. Officers Finnegan, Bernards and Frei were the first officers to arrive and each took a suspect into custody. Officer Doberstein did the overall investigation interviewing the witnesses, victims and suspects. Officer Valentin provided translation during the suspect interviews as the suspects spoke limited English. Investigator McEvoy processed the scene and collected the stolen items out of the suspect's vehicle. Officer Witalison later returned to the scene to locate another victim vehicle which had not been located earlier but the suspects had confessed to stealing from. That vehicle had been unlocked so there was no exterior damage. Det. Riesterer has been assigned the case and will be doing the necessary followup to tie up the case. An exceptional job was done by all of the officers involved.

As a side point of interest: This call was handled by North and East District officers. The incident occurred in the East Police district but this area is just across the street from the boundaries of the North District. When the 911 Center receives calls for serious crimes or crimes in progress, the District officer is sent as well as other officers who may be close, regardless of their District assignment.

Officer almost Involved in a Shooting

Several East District officers had a few tense moments on a recent evening. The call involved a 41 yr old man with mental health and drug abuse problems. He had recently been evicted and had moved in with a relative. The relative reported that the man had become upset and thrown and broken several items in the house. The relative was afraid to return home. The officers were familiar with the man. 2 weeks ago, they had a similar call and had a "knock down, drag out fight" to get the man into custody. Four officers entered the house and located the man in the basement. The man was holding a wooden crutch and swinging it like a baseball bat. He began to advance on one of the officers, but then threw the crutch down and retreated to the other side of the room. At this point, he took out a razor knife and began to cut himself. Obviously it is extremely dangerous to approach a person armed with a knife. Such persons have often been able to advance on an officer and stab the officer, even after being shot. One of the officers was able to move in on the man from behind. He struck the man's arm twice with a police baton, hoping to cause the man to drop the knife. The blows did not work. The man turned on the officer with the knife outstretched. The trigger of an officer's gun began to come back. The initial officer, out of instinct and training, swung the baton at the man's outstretched arm, causing the knife to fly out of his hand. The man began to fight with the officers. They were able to get the man handcuffed. After receiving medical treatment for his self inflicted injuries, the man was taken to jail. And 4 officers were relieved that this wasn't the day they had to pull that trigger.

Theft at LaFollette High School

Two teachers had wallets stolen out of an unlocked, unattended classroom. A student was seen leaving the area. Video cameras located in the hallway, showed the student entering and leaving the classroom at the time of the theft. The 14 yr old boy later confessed to the theft.

Mother Supplying Alcohol to Kids

Officers were recently sent to an East side residence after being called by the estranged husband. He was concerned about his wife's activities in regard to their children. Our investigation showed that the mother had her 17 yr old son drive her to see her boyfriend. The son does not have a valid driver's license. The mother also had just purchased alcohol for her 13 yr old daughter to take with her while she met up with several friends. This was not the first time the mother had purchased alcohol for the daughter. The mother was cited for procuring alcohol for an underage personl and Dane County Human Services was contacted for follow up.

Traffic Enforcement

Officer Veatch reports the following traffic enforcement.

  • Hwy 12/18:  2 citations, 1 warning
  • 3400 Atwood Av:  2 citations, 1 warning
  • 5900-6200 Cottage Grove Rd:  1 warning
  • 300-400 Davies & 4000-4200 Demsey:  No violations
  • 4100-4200 Jerome St:  No violations
  • 3500-3600 Lexington Av:  1 citation, 1 warning

Sexual Assault Information

Our last inservice training for officers, had a segment on Sensitive Crime Investigation, including sexual assaults, domestic violence, Restraining Orders and stalking. I wanted to share a small part of that training with you.

Indicators for a Potentially Abusive Relationship

Do you have children who are starting to date? What signs should they look for that may indicate they are in an unhealthy relationship? Decision Making: Do both people in the relationship get to make decisions about activities, etc.? Abusers typically like to exercise control and make all decisions.

Jealousy/Possessiveness: Is each person allowed to spend time with their own friends? Abusers tend to isolate their partners to have better control and avoid outside influence. Anger Management: Does the other person become very angry over minor incidents or more angry than is reasonable for the circumstances? This may indicate the person has an anger management problem.

Talk to your kids about these indicators. And remember, they don't just apply to kids.

Try this Quiz

Another part of the training involved a quiz about sexual assaults, based on a study. Here are the questions. The answers appear at the end.

1.  What proportion of girls are sexually assaulted before the age of 18?

a) 1 in 2 b) 1 in 4 c) 1 in 6 d) 1 in 10

2. What proportion of boys are sexually assaulted before the age of 18?

a) 1 in 2 b) 1 in 4 c) 1 in 6 d) 1 in 10

3. What percentage of reported sexual assaults in Wisconsin are committed by someone known to the victim?

a) 51 % b) 75 % c) 86 % d) 93 %

4. What percentage of sexual assault victims report to the police within 24 hours?

a) 2 % b) 12 % c) 38 % d) 48 %

5. What percentage of rape allegations turn out to be false?

a) 5 % b) 8 % c) 13 % d) 17 %

6.What percentage of people with developmental disabilities are sexually assaulted in their lifetime?

a) 37 % b) 64 % c) 83 % d) 95 %

7. What percentage of college women, who were the victims of "unwanted sex", identified themselves as rape victims?

a) 12 % b) 27 % c) 34 % d) 61 %

8. What percentage of men who's actions fit the legal definition of sexual assault said what they did was definitely not rape?

a) 44 % b) 64 % c) 84 % d) 94%

The answers:

1. b 2. c 3. 93% 4. 12% 5. 5% 6. 95% 7. 12% 8. 84%

That's all for this newsletter. Take Care. Be Careful. Be Safe.

Captain Jilene Klubertanz