Rash of West Side Burglaries, Vehicle Break-ins May Be Related

On Monday, that several similar crime reports in an area on Tosa's west side might be related, and the trend has continued through this week with several break-ins to businesses and vehicles, two targeting next-door businesses.

The incidents are occurring in an area centered from around 114th Street and to the west and from North Avenue to the north. The has been asked for a statement on the rash of crimes.

At 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, a co-owner of Best Choice Landscaping, 11820 W. Ripley Ave., reported that sometime since 6:30 p.m. Tuesday someone had broken into his building by breaking the lock on a rear door and had stolen power equipment worth $6,950.

Many other pieces of equipment had been lined up neatly near the door, leading officers to believe the burglars had been interrupted or spooked while loading the goods. Cash kept in the office and a shotgun in plain view were not taken. A truck and trailer on the property were also rifled and a GPS unit and an iPod Nano were taken; their value was placed at $250.

At 5:20 p.m. Thursday, the owner of American Pro Interiors, also at 11820 W. Ripley, reported that a number of power tools were stolen from his truck sometime since Monday night.

He noticed Thursday morning that the lock on the rear gate had been cut and found the tools missing. He told officers he suspected the theft had occurred Tuesday night when Best Choice Landscaping was also hit. The value of the tools stolen from American Pro was listed at $6,417.

According to the incident report, police were investigating those as related crimes.

A Best Choice employee told officers he suspected the same and had a suspect in mind. He had found tools on Craigslist similar to thoses stolen from him.

Other incidents in the area

At 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, a resident in the 11400 block of West Clarke Street reported that overnight someone had entered his unlocked vehicle and taken his wallet with credit cards, identification cards, Social Security card and $10 cash, as well as his backpack with $500 worth of engineering books, a digital “breadboard” worth $3,000, an iPod, CDs, a laptop computer and the keys to his house, car and work. All the items were valued at $7,345.

At 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, a salesman from Evansville, IN, reported that the driver’s window of his car had been smashed and a GPS unit, a radio receiver and a cell phone had been stolen while he was on a sales call at Briggs & Stratton, 3300 N. 124^th St. He placed the value of the stolen items at $700 and damage to his car at $250.

At 1:35 p.m. Wednesday, a Milwaukee woman reported that the window of her van had been smashed and someone had stolen a GPS unit and a cell phone charger cord sometime since 11 a.m., when she had parked and locked the van at Shorewest Realty, 11622 N. North Ave. She placed the value of the stolen items at $200 and damage to the van at $200.

Earlier, as already reported, there had been a home burglary that netted car keys and resulted in a car being stolen and the attempted theft of a second car, plus another attempted car theft nearby and several more vehicle break-ins in the area.