Four more burglaries were carried out in Brookfield Between March 5 and 8, including one that appears to have been witnessed by a neighbor who did not call police to report suspicious activity.
Brookfield police were called to the 4500 block of Maple Avenue about 4:30 p.m. on March 5 when a resident discovered that someone had broken into his home by forcing open a rear basement door.
Police discovered that the door frame was damaged. Missing from the home were two large flat-panel TVs, one measuring 60 inches and the other 40 inches. A PlayStation 3 videogame system was also taken from the home, along with a Rolex watch, jewelry, a fireproof lock box, credit cards and personal papers, including a passport.
The home was burglarized sometime between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., but police talked to one person who reportedly witnessed suspicious activity at the home between 11 a.m. and noon.
According to the police report, the witness said a dark blue vehicle with a sliding side door parked near the home. A man got out of the passenger side and went to the front door of the home that was burglarized.
The passenger then went back to the vehicle, which made a U-turn and parked in front of the house the passenger had just visited. Two men wearing hooded sweatshirts then got out of the van and walked up the driveway of the home into the backyard.
Brookfield police Lt. Edward Petrak called on residents to immediately report any suspicious activity.
“We have a handful of suspects on these burglaries. It’s just a matter of catching them in the act or with the proceeds,” Petrak said. “I think there’s a misperception that people shouldn’t bother the police unless it’s an emergency. People also worry that we’ll use their names, knock on their door or somehow the bad guy will learn who called the police. Callers can always be anonymous if they desire to be.”
Brookfield police also reported that two garages were burglarized during the overnight hours of March 5-6. Based on footprints left in the snow at each scene, police believe the two incidents are related.
Two cars were ransacked inside a garage in the 4100 block of Park Avenue, though nothing appeared to be missing from the vehicles or the garage. But several items were taken from a garage in the 9000 block of Rochester Avenue.
The owner of that property said he noticed his overhead garage door open when he came outside at 5 a.m. Missing from the garage were a snow blower, a power drill and a voltage meter.
Police discovered two sets of footprints outside the garage in the snow, tracing them through the alley behind the 4100 block of Park Avenue. The prints at both locations were determined to be identical.
Brookfield police questioned one suspect but did not file charges.
Finally, a resident of the 3800 block of Forest Avenue reported on March 8 that his home had been broken into while he was out of town. According to the police report, the burglary appears to have been committed between March 5 and 7, due to the fact that police discovered footprints outside the home in the snow between the home and the alley. Entry to the home was made through a rear sliding glass door, which appeared to have been forced open.
Among the items taken from the home were a 32-inch flat-panel TV, a DVD player and a laptop computer. Other valuable items in the home, including another TV, DVD player and laptop computer remained untouched.
