Woman's shoplifting leads cops to theft ring

A woman caught taking a couple of bottles of hair gel led officers to the man she was stealing for and her other accomplices.

According to a Wauwatosa police report:

The woman had put the hair products in her purse and walked out to a waiting vehicle in the parking lot at Dollar Tree, 2851 N. Mayfair Road, at 5:14 p.m. Nov. 10. An employee followed the 18-year-old Milwaukee woman and told her to pay for the items.

Officers stopped the vehicle that had been waiting for her and found a 47-year-old man behind the wheel. He handed over an instructional driver's permit, but officers soon learned it was a fake. The man had a felony warrant for violating parole and was driving after his license had been revoked.

Also in the vehicle was a 14-year-old Milwaukee girl who tried to convince officers she was older. Turned out she was a runaway.

A 42-year-old woman in possession of a crack pipe was also involved.

The women said the man would have them steal or make fake returns for store credit. They had been to Potawatomi Casino earlier in the morning and taken three debit cards from a woman's purse. Then they had made stops at The Home Depot, Walgreens and the Dollar Store in Wauwatosa filling the trunk and their pockets with more than $591 in items from perfume sets and purses to flashlight bulbs and bug repellent.

The man was arrested for resisting arrest, contributing to the delinquency of a child and possession of stolen property. The 18-year-old woman was arrested for possession of the stolen property, while the older woman was arrested for drug paraphernalia possession.