WAUWATOSA - Teens on what appears to be a car theft spree were stopped in their tracks Wednesday.
A Wauwatosa police officer arrested them with help from a resident who quickly tipped off officials after seeing something suspicious. It started before 8 a.m. when a man saw someone trying to break in to his car in his driveway. The doors were locked and the thieves left. The witness provided police with a detailed description of the suspects' get-away car. It turns out the vehicle was stolen as well.
It all ended on the corner of Capitol Drive and 100th Street. Wauwatosa police arrested the 17-year-old driver as he and two others attempted to run away.
"And we located a second juvenile suspect hiding in a garage in the area a short time later," said Lt. Brian Zalewski.
Police say the Toyota Camry they were in was stolen four days ago from CAR-ite on 76th Street in Milwaukee.
“They broke through the glass, climbed through the glass and actually took a vehicle out of our service drive," said Steve Perkins, manager.
But Perkins says getting the car out of the service drive wasn't easy.
“They couldn’t open the door so instead of trying to figure out how to open the doors, they smashed right through the doors," said Perkins.
They took a Toyota Camry and a Ford Focus, but once outside, they were unable to get the Focus off of the lot.
“‘And you can see here where the vehicle came up, got onto the crb and couldn’t get past," said Perkins.
Perkins says CAR-ites other location has been targeted by thieves six times over the past year.
“It’s frustrating, annoying, and it seems like epidemic.," said Perkins.
The Milwaukee area has seen numerous stolen vehicles this year, typically at the hands of teens, often times leading to police pursuits like this one.
“Typically those cars are being stolen and then being used to commit other crimes." said Lt. Zalewski.
Police are still seeking the third person who was in that stolen car Wednesday in Wauwatosa. Charges are expected in the coming days.
