A woman has been charged with stealing over $20,000 in jewelry and other items from multiple open houses.
Janet Barnes visited an open house on May 22 in Glendale. Days later, the owner of the home filed reports of items stolen from the home such as bracelets, necklaces, rings, Louis Vuitton purses, a Tag Hauer watch and an Irish coin. The owner estimated that the stolen items added up to more than $24,000.
The real estate company the homeowner used reported similar instances in Shorewood, Milwaukee and Menomonee Falls in the previous weeks.
A Glendale police officer looked into the incidents and found they all involved a female suspect, and later received information that a vehicle at the scene of the incidents was listed as Barnes'.
The real estate agent at the home in Glendale later reported interacting with a white female subject who asked to use an upstairs bathroom and was then left alone upstairs.
A Glendale detective conducted a North Eastern Wisconsin Property Reporting System search of Barnes' name and found she sold multiple items to jewelry stores May 24 and 25.
On Friday, Barnes was located outside Derzon Coins and taken into custody. Officers found a "cornucopia of jewelry" on her, as well as inside her vehicle. They also recovered multiple realtor cards, according to the criminal complaint.
Barnes admitted to selling the jewelry she acquired from the open houses. She also identified herself in still images and surveillance video taken at the locations.
Barnes is charged with theft - movable property (<$10,000-$100,000) for which she faces up to $25,000 in fines and/or 10 years in prison.
