Police in Wauwatosa needed to save a burglar after a man in the 1500 block of North 60th Street fired four shots at him.
According to the Wauwatosa police report:
A homeowner was looking out of his kitchen window when he noticed a man in his yard at 5:10 p.m. July 21, ducking and looking around. He thought this was suspicious so he went out and asked him what he was doing in his yard.
The man took off.
The homeowner gave chase.
The man was already out of sight, but the homeowner noticed police were in the area. He told them where the man ran to and returned to his yard with an officer.
Police followed the man down alleyways and he eventually jumped over a tall fence. An officer had rounded the yard, kicking down the gate, when he heard four gunshots in quick succession.
He came to the backyard where he saw the suspect cowering and a man pointing a pistol at him. He ordered the pistol-wielding man to get on the ground and took both into custody. The gun owner was released without charges, but the other man was charged for burglary. The burglar had a key to a Toyota and $120 cash on him.
Back at the yard, the homeowner noticed potted plants had been moved around and his Toyota was parked very close to his house. He hadn't moved the plants or parked the Toyota close to his home. Going into his kitchen, he noticed the key was taken as well as $120 from the counter. His Toyota was parked in by his other vehicle and he thought the burglar moved the plants to get the vehicle out of the driveway.
Down at the station, the burglar admitted to taking the money. He said that he was riding his bike around Wauwatosa, angry about an argument he had with his mother and looking to get money from cars.
He admitted to taking the key but said the key was in the car and not the home at the time.