Then Again
Audrey Juds, a longtime resident of New Berlin, has worked over 25 years covering the city as a reporter, editor and columnist. Contact her at dajuds@att.net.
Beware of daylight burglars hitting area
We like to think we are safe out here in the suburbs, especially during the daytime.
But New Berlin police are warning us that there are very active burglars operating out here during the day and people are seeing them but not calling the Police Department to report any suspicious activity.
Detective Forest Clevenstine describes the suspect as a white male, medium build and height, short brown hair, mid 20’s. He has burglarized five homes in New Berlin since July 17, and during this past month he also has hit more homes in surrounding communities," .
The detective describes how the suspect does it. First he knocks on the front door. If someone answers he will make up some type of excuse as to why he is there and quickly leaves.
If no one answers he walks around the house looking for the easiest way in. "The suspect either enters unlocked doors or windows or “donkey kicks” doors to force entry, and his targets are cash, jewelry, opiate pills, and other small valuables," Clevenstine states.
He then carries out his loot in pillow cases and backpacks he has taken from the victims’ houses.
Two suspicious vehicles have been seen:-- a green Jeep Cherokee and a silver or champagne colored Tahoe or Suburban with tinted windows. The suspect also has been seen on a cell phone leaving these residences and getting picked up about a block away.
Years ago, as a reporter covering New Berlin, I wrote about a series of daytime burglaries. This person dressed as a businessman and no one was suspicious when seeing him carrying ietms out of a friend's home.
Then, one afternoon he broke into my home. Police later told me he was the most active burglar, covering five counties, and he got the least from my house.
I guess I did not have much of what he wanted. He took a coat out of the closet, thinking it was fur. When he saw it was a fake, he threw it on the floor. However, what he took had sentimental value, like my grandmother's hanging watch, and gold coins my husband got from his father.
And there was the feeling of invasion -- someone going through all yoour drawers and dumping them out on the floor.
Police are trying to emphasize the need for residents to be alert, and to call If you see anything suspicious in your neighborhood. For an emergency, call 911. Or you can contact Officer Dan Hanlon about crime alerts at 262-780-8106, or call the department's non-emergency number, 262-782-6640.
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