Third person arrested in Tosa armed home invasion

Published on: 5/1/2009

Two armed robbery suspects attempting to force a Wauwatosa woman to withdraw cash from an automated teller machine were arrested Friday when the woman used a cell phone to alert authorities, police said.

A third suspect was later taken into custody at the woman's residence, where he was believed to be holding the woman's 18-year-old son hostage, according to Wauwatosa police Lt. Dominic Leone.

According to Leone, who spoke with reporters on a video on the WTMJ-TV (Channel 4) Web site, three armed robbers entered the woman's home in the area of W. Martin Drive and N. 62nd St. shortly after 11:30 a.m.

Two of the robbers took the woman to a nearby ATM, where she managed to call police while the two waited for her to withdraw money, Leone told the reporters.

"Apparently these suspects didn't check to see if she had a cell phone," Leone said.

The two were taken into custody at the ATM, and police then surrounded the woman's home, where the third robber was believed to be holding her son hostage, Leone said.

The woman's son was released unharmed and the third robber was taken into custody when officers entered the home shortly before 3 p.m., Leone said.

Leone said he had no information on the suspects as far as their ages and genders, and that he was not sure whether they had forced their way in.

The incident was not a random act, according to Leone.

A supervisor at the Grandma's House day care center said officers advised the center to lock down because of the situation nearby.