Police Beat: Thief Wanders Through Yards Searching for Easy Targets

A lone suspect was on the prowl through the yards of Menomonee Falls homes looking for easy targets, and eventually found one.

Sometime between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. Tuesday the suspect entered an unlocked shed and committed a theft from an unlocked vehicle in the area of Balsam Drive, Beaver Drive and Badger Drive. Menomonee Falls police conducted an extensive canvass of the area and found footprints in the snow that meandered through the yards of 15 to 20 homes in the area.

According to police, most of the footprints led to cars, garage windows and sheds. The footprints were documented and placed in a photo log. Police are reminding residents of the importance of locking vehicles or sheds and removing items of value from plain sight to prevent crimes of opportunity.

Also in the reports:

• Between 2:56 a.m. and 10:10 a.m. Tuesday, an unknown suspect entered two vehicles while they were parked at Harley Davidson and stole $3 in change from one vehicle and rummaged through both. The suspect used an object to break out the rear window on each vehicle.
• Two suspects entered Friends of Nature between 2:50 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. and stole two pieces of merchandise. The items were concealed by both of the suspects, and the theft was caught of surveillance video.
• A 38-year-old man was arrested for disorderly conduct Friday along W17000 block of Apple Tree Court. The man was also arrested for bail jumping relating to a pending disorderly conduct charge in Racine County. He was released after posting $1,150 bail.