Police Reports: Again with the Drinking and the Railroad Tracks

There seems to be some strange attraction that has been developed recently between intoxicated drivers and the railroad tracks in Wauwatosa.

For the third time in as many weeks, a drunken driver has tempted an unforgiving fate by stopping on the tracks – although at least he didn't try to drive down them as in incidents one and two.

According to this police report:

At 2:29 a.m. Wednesday, a 24-year-old Milwaukee man was arrested for drunken driving, second offense, after a patrol officer stopped him for running a red light at Harwood and Glenview avenues.

The man drove down Harwood and, when the officer flashed his emergency lights, stopped on the railroad tracks. And he wouldn't move.

The officer blipped his siren repeatedly and the drive still wouldn't move. Finally, the officer rolled down his window and hollered “Get off the tracks!”

The man then pulled forward a bit and tried to drive onto the footbridge.

The officer finally got the man to back up and pull into the public parking lot, where he failed a sobriety test. He began vomiting in the squad car on the way to the police station and continued to do so during booking, so no breath test could be administered.

In other recent incidents:

Wednesday

A Brookfield woman reported that between 6 and 6:50 p.m. someone smashed a window in her car and stole her purse containing cash and credit cards while she was at , 8700 Watertown Plank Rd.

A resident of the 300 block of North 70^th Street reported that someone had entered his car overnight and stolen a GPS unit and some change. He had locked his car but left a window halfway down.

A resident of the 2400 block of North 70^th Street reported that some time late Sunday or early Monday someone had entered her open garage and stolen a wallet containing credit cards from her unlocked car.

A 17-year-old Wauwatosa boy was cited for habitual truancy from for the second time since January. He had been absent either all or part of every day since his last court date on Jan. 30.

Tuesday

At 2:41 p.m., a 48-year-old Waukesha man was arrested for lewd and lascivious behavior after an officer on special assignment targeting such behavior encountered him in the 1500 block of Underwood Parkway. The officer said he was sitting on a log near a foot trail when the man approached him and began fondling himself and talking about sexually gratifying acts.

A resident of the 3300 block of North 107^th Street reported that overnight someone entered his unlocked car in his driveway and stole tools and a GPS unit.

A man visiting from Washington, DC, reported that a window in his car was smashed overnight while he was at , 111211 W. North Ave., but nothing appeared to have been stolen.

Monday

A Menomonee Falls woman reported that between 5:30 and 7 p.m. a window had been smashed out of her car and her iPod Touch had been stolen while she was in

A resident of the 2100 block of North 71^st Street reported that overnight someone had entered three unlocked cars in his driveway and stolen an iPod and a Garmin GPS unit.

April 15

A couple living in the 1200 block of North 124^th Street reported that they believe their home was burglarized some time between April 2 and 6. The man called police at 5:45 p.m. Sunday after noticing that a fire safe he kept in their front closet was missing. When he this to his girlfriend, she recalled a day during the first week of the month when she came home to find their front door ajar. She had entered through their attached garage, which does not have a functioning lock. She added that they seldom lock the doors to the home itself. She then said that later in the week she missed some jewelry she kept in a dresser drawer. Realizing that they must have been victims of a burglary, the couple took stock and found they were both missing a good deal of valuable jewelry and other property. Because of the time lapse in reporting the crime, police were unable to conduct a forensic investigation and have no evidence or suspects. Officers left the couple with information on having a home security survey conducted by the Community Support Division, provided at no charge.

April 14

At 6:09 p.m., a 54-year-old Wauwatosa man and a 38-year-old Milwaukee woman were arrested for disorderly conduct after they got into a fight after Family Free Day at the . The woman and members of her family had paid to park their car at the Citgo gas station at 10324 Blue Mound Rd., and when they returned and were getting ready to leave, a man in a Cadillac began yelling profanities at them, telling them they had no right to park there, and indeed had no right to be in the country. He left after the altercation but police found him at home, smelling of alcohol. He claimed that the woman’s family car had been blocking his exit from the gas station and he had merely asked them to move. During his arrest, he told police he had been hit by “one of them, you know, the ones that can’t speak English, they are not even from this country.” The woman told police she is a U.S. citizen, and she gave her statement in English. She was arrested because a witness saw her throw the only punch that landed during the set-to.

At 11:23 p.m., a 44-year-old Milwaukee man was arrested for possession of stolen property after he was found with a shopping cart and merchandise stolen from Dollar Tree, 2851 N. Mayfair Rd. A patrol officer first spotted him with the cart and covering the contents with a coat, in the 2900 block of Mayfair, and thought he looked suspicious. Because of road construction and congestion, it took the officer several minutes to get into a position to relocate the man and detain him. He again spotted the shopping cart parked next to a large donation box at the Mobil gas station at 3106 N. Mayfair. He pulled in and saw that the suspect’s feet sticking out of the top of the donation box. He admitted taking the cart from Dollar Tree and said that the various items in a bag in the cart were also “from Dollar Tree,” but he had no receipt. He was taken back to the store, where video showed him stealing the items.

At 1:28 a.m., a 37-year-old Wauwatosa man was arrested for prowling after witnesses reported seeing him approaching homes and looking through windows with a flashlight in the 2600 block of North 72^nd Street. Police found the man in an alley south of West Center Street, carrying a flashlight, but he denied looking in windows. However, two witnesses gave exactly matching statements that they did see him doing so.

April 13

At 8:09 p.m., a 25-year-old Milwaukee woman was arrested for possession of marijuana with intent to deliver after a patrol officer stopped her for running a red light at North 60^th and West Lloyd streets. The officer said that when he approached the car, he could smell “a very strong odor of raw marijuana.” When the woman was asked to get out of the car, she tried to conceal her purse underneath it. It was found to contain three large bags each filled with smaller individual bags of pot, totaling about 70 grams. The woman said she had bought the marijuana for $1,000 and intended to sell it for a profit to pay her rent.

A Wauwatosa woman reported that between 5:50 and 7 p.m., someone broke into her car by smashing a window while she was at Wisconsin Athletic Club, 8700 Watertown Plank Rd. Nothing was missing from her car.

At 4:41 p.m., a 30-year-old Milwaukee woman was arrested for retail theft at the store in after she was caught trying to steal three pieces of costume jewelry worth $36.50. She also had several bracelets from the Forever 21 store in the mall, which she admitted stealing, but the store manager said that by policy Forever 21 would not assist in prosecuting the woman for possession of stolen property. The woman said she stole the jewelry to give to her cousin at her birthday party that night.

At 12:40 p.m., two men were arrested for theft after a woman who lives in the 4600 block of North 105^th Street saw them in her driveway, loading her stainless steel gas grill into the trunk of their car, and called police. Mark Alan Bannister, 47, of Milwaukee and John Charles Barton, 51, of Pewaukee were each issued municipal citations for theft, carrying $681 bonds, after police chased them down and pulled them over a few blocks away. They claimed they thought the grill had been left in the driveway to be taken away for free, but police noted they had to pull 30 feet into her drive to get it.

A resident of the 7900 block of Rogers Avenue reported that her 2002 Ford Explorer had been stolen from her driveway overnight and another car in her drive had been opened and rummaged through. At 3:10 p.m. Saturday, Milwaukee police reported having found the Explorer in the 3200 block of North 41^st Street, up on blocks and missing all four wheels. The report noted that an auto break-in and a burglary had been reported nearby around the same time (below).

At 7:46 a.m., a resident of the 7800 block of Warren Avenue reported that his van had been broken into overnight by someone who had smashed a window and then stolen his GPS unit.

At 7 a.m., a resident of the 2000 block of North 81^st Street reported that overnight someone had entered his open, detached garage and entered both of his cars, which were not locked. Nothing had been taken.

April 12

At 8:47 p.m., a Milwaukee man reported that while he was at Jimmy’s Island Grill at the , 2303 N. Mayfair Rd., someone broke into his car by smashing a window and stole his duffel bag full of gym clothing and a laptop computer