John Henry Smith Jr., 51, of Milwaukee has been charged with misdemeanor retail theft. He is accused of violating probation from a prior theft charge and taking liquor valued at $734 from Pick 'n Save, 6950 W. State St., two days earlier.
According to the Wauwatosa police report:
Grocery store personnel had been on the lookout for a man wearing a distinctive purple hat who had been taking liquor. He showed up at a checkout counter at 12:57 p.m. with an empty cart.
He tried to keep the cashier distracted while his accomplice - Charles Adams, 42, of Milwaukee, who has been charged with the same crime - pushed the full cart out the door.
The duo was loading a car when security approached, so they ran. Smith got on a bus but was arrested when he exited at 60th and Vliet streets.
Meanwhile, Adams took off his outer shirt so he wouldn't be recognized, but he was stopped at 62nd Street and Milwaukee Avenue. He was wanted on a Brown Deer Police Department warrant.
Smith said he felt dizzy and was experiencing chest pains, the same complaints he made when he was arrested for stealing liquor from the same Pick 'n Save in 2009.
He was taken to Froedtert Hospital, where he was medically cleared.
More from News and Features
- Anodyne Coffee plans to open location in Wauwatosa Village
- Wauwatosa Meetings: Aug. 4
- Video: Wauwatosa girl's curbside ice cream stand raises money for the hungry
- Wauwatosa News and Notes: Hands-only CPR training offered; Firefly Art Fair is Aug. 6-7
- Wauwatosa Ask Now: Why are there barriers and fencing along the North Avenue bridges over the Menomonee River?
- Mystery Photo Contest: July 28
- Wauwatosa gears up for National Night Out event, this year at the zoo
- Election 2016: Wisconsin's 4th District candidates weigh in
- Wauwatosa's Luther Manor residents share smiles through flower delivery
- Wauwatosa Police Report: July 17-23