Police Beat: Camera Valued at $2,500 Stolen From Unlocked Vehicle

As long as it remains easy for a criminal to steal from a vehicle, the more often reports like these will show up at the Menomonee Falls Police Department.

Around midnight on Dec. 23, a suspect entered two unlocked vehicles on the W13300 block of Harding Drive.

The suspect took a wallet containing two debit cards, a social security card, a driver’s license and $12 cash. The second victim also paid a heavy price. The suspect stole a Canon EOS 40D camera with a Tamron lens from her vehicle, which had a value of $2,500.

Earlier this year, Menomonee Falls Patch investigated vehicle break-ins, and a report found that a majority of the incidents involved unlocked vehicles.

Police ask that residents take the following precautions when leaving their vehicles parked outside:

• Remove all valuables from the vehicle: wallets, purses, laptops, cell phones, iPods, etc.
• Lock your vehicles
• Illuminate the exterior of your house/garage if possible.

As always, if you see something suspicious, call the department at (262) 532-8700.

Also in the reports:

• Between 6:30 p.m. Dec. 22 and 4 a.m. Dec. 23, a person stole $70 in cash and two pieces of jewelry from a 57-year-old woman’s home on the N4900 block of Greenview Avenue. The woman’s son’s 29-year-old female friend stole the items. The son and the 29-year-old woman had recently met in rehab for their heroin use. The stolen property had a combined value of $1,870.
• On Tuesday at 12:57 p.m., police found a loose dog roaming near Lilly Road and Good Hope Road. The owner was contacted and the dog was returned, but the owner was given until Jan. 11 to purchase a village dog license.
• On Dec. 17, an unknown suspect used a 40-year-old woman’s credit card to make fraudulent purchases at the Walmart in Germantown and a gas station in Wauwatosa. The woman believes the wallet was stolen while she was dining at in Menomonee Falls.