MILWAUKEE — A Milwaukee woman is speaking out after a thief broke into her garage twice in one night, stealing her bikes and leaving her family feeling violated.
Maria Gleason discovered Friday afternoon that someone had broken into her Park Knoll neighborhood garage not once, but twice in the early morning hours, taking her bikes and a BB gun.
"It was a mixture of being so mad because you feel so invaded. It's such an invasion of privacy," Gleason said.
Surveillance video shows the thief snooping around just before 1:00 a.m. But when they returned for a second time, the situation became more concerning for the mother.
"We see him looking into my kitchen window and looking into the door. That's scary, knowing that my kids are asleep inside of that house, and they're peeking in there," Gleason said.
Watch: Thief strikes twice, steals e-bike from Milwaukee woman with MS
The suspect broke in through a door leading to the garage and took additional items before exiting through the backyard to avoid cameras. The thief also broke into the family's shed and attempted to move their power washer, which was later found in a neighbor's yard.
"I think he's absolutely coming through the backyard," Gleason said.
This incident follows another recent case of suspicious activity in the area. Last week, neighbors shared surveillance video of another person on a bike looking for open car doors and windows just a few blocks away.
Gleason doesn't think it's the same person after reviewing all of the footage. On Friday, she checked in with neighbors to try and gather more footage to see where the person went.
The theft has particularly impacted Gleason, who depends on her foldable Jetson e-bike for mobility as she lives with multiple sclerosis.
"I know that I'm going to be able to have mobility. My kids were in a lot of parades this year, and I was able to walk with them using the bike," Gleason said.
She also uses it to bike with her family on the nearby trails.
"You didn't just take my bike or my husband's bike. You took our family bike trips. You know, you took something bigger than just those two wheels," said Gleason.
Her husband's stolen bike is a 26-inch Artudatech mountain bike.
"It's just very frustrating," Gleason said.
By sharing her story, Gleason hopes to bring awareness to the impact these crimes have on families and the community, but also encourage more policing in her neighborhood.
She filed a police report with the Milwaukee Police Department.
This story was reported on-air by Mike Beiermeister and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
