MILWAUKEE — The man suspected of burglarizing a Bay View bakery is now facing charges.
As TMJ4 News reported, Canfora Bakery (also known as Lakeside Bakery) was burglarized of cash last month, but they came up with a unique way of trying to catching the suspect: by baking sugar cookies with the suspect's photo in the middle.
On social media, the bakery invited the community "to come on in and take a bite out of the thief while supplies last - one per family."
Police say they now have found a suspect. On Saturday, Milwaukee County prosecutors charged the suspect, Allen Kolp, 45, with burglary of a building or dwelling and felony bail jumping. If convicted, he could spend up to 18 years in prison and face $35,000 in fines.
A criminal complaint released Monday states Milwaukee police officers were called to Canfora Bakery on East Oklahoma Avenue during the early hours of April 20 for a complaint of unlawful entry.
There they spoke with the owner of the bakery, who told officers an employee arrived at the shop late the night before to prepare for the next day. The employee soon found out that the cash drawer was missing, containing about $200.
Surveillance videos around the bakery showed a man wearing a cap and carrying a milk crate checking the side door of the bakery that evening, the complaint states. The person reappeared wearing gloves and a face mask with the same cap on.
The man then went to a mounted lock box outside the business and unscrewed it from the wall. The man eventually uses a key and enters the business through a side door, according to the complaint.
Inside the business, surveillance video shows the man removing cash from the register and then walking towards the exit with the drawer, prosecutors say.
Police say the surveillance video showed the man's face "with a high degree of clarity." Police then released a photo from the surveillance video to the public.
This is the same photo the bakery used to make its cookies with the face of a suspect inside the cookie.
Eight days after the burglary, a local business owner contacted police to say they recognized the man in the surveillance photo and identified him by name. Police visited the suspect's ex-wife, who also identified the man in the photo, the complaint states.
On May 9, police arrived at a hotel on Layton Avenue, where officers found the suspect, Kolp, in a room. Police say Kolp jumped from the second-floor balcony, but officers took him into custody after he landed on the ground, according to the complaint.
During an interview with police, Kolp identified himself in the surveillance photo, but he denied going into the bakery, police say. Kolp told officers that he jumped from the hotel balcony because he knew he was wanted in connection with the bakery burglary, saying that “they have [my] stuff on social media," according to the criminal complaint.
On Saturday, bond was set for $1,000 for Kolp. He will be back in court for his preliminary hearing on May 24.
The bakery posted this to social media after finding out police had a suspect:
