Man escapes Oak Creek drug sting after trip to hospital
Police have issued an arrest warrant for an alleged drug dealer who escaped custody Oct. 31.
According to the Oak Creek police report:
A 26-year-old Milwaukee man sold six bags of crack cocaine to an undercover police officer while the two were sitting in a car in the parking lot at Milwaukee Area Technical College, 6665 S. Howell Ave., shortly before 8 a.m. Oct. 31.
When a detective came to the passenger-side door to make the arrest, the man struck him and ran off, with two officers in pursuit. The officers caught the man, but he resisted arrest and refused to put his hands behind his back.
Police used a Taser to gain control of the man after they saw him place a plastic bag into his mouth. The man was unable to swallow the bag and eventually spit it out. The bag contained 3.5 grams of powder cocaine, 14 grams of crack cocaine and 33 additional corner-cut bags.
» Read Full ArticleFranklin woman faces charges she had sex with teen wrestler she helped coach
A Franklin woman has been charged with having sexual relations with a 16-year-old boy she met while helping her husband coach wrestling.
Colleen Lewandowski, 27, faces three counts of having intercourse with a child 16 or older, a misdemeanor.
According to the criminal complaint, the boy told police Lewandowski used to assist at wrestling practices and meets last school year, and that he saw her again at a match in February, when he was no longer on the team. She told him about her marital problems and began communicating with him on Facebook, and then texting, the boy told police.
In March, they began a sexual relationship, and the boy spent about eight nights at Lewandowski's residence; her husband had moved out and was staying with a friend, the boy said she told him.
Lewandowski admitted to police that she did pick the boy up at school or near his home on several occasions, that he spent nights at her apartment and they engaged in sexual relations. On Wednesday, her attorney filed a motion seeking to suppress her statements because police questioned her at the police station for nearly 15 minutes before announcing her Miranda rights to a lawyer.
» Read Full ArticleMan banned from store for stealing 49-cent 'Beavis and Butt-head' tape
A Milwaukee man is no longer welcome in a local thrift store after getting caught shoplifting a "Beavis and Butthead" VHS tape last week.
According to the Franklin police report:
The 19-year-old man was arrested for shoplifting the tape at the Salvation Army Store, 6341 S. 27th St., at 1:45 p.m. on Thursday. The tape was valued at 49 cents.
The man was cited and banned from the store because he is a suspect in previous shoplifting incidents.
Visit MyCommunityNOW's Suburban Crime Map each week for more crime reports, which are compiled by NOW reporters from more than 20 local police departments.
Are there cougars in Franklin? Police officer sees large, wild cat on bike trail
Franklin — A police officer is the latest in a list of witnesses to report seeing a large, wild cat near the Oak Leaf Bike Trail.
According to the Franklin police report:
A police officer was talking to a resident in the 6800 block of South 68th Street at 7:08 p.m. May 16. They were standing between the 68th Street entrance and the Rawson Avenue entrance to the Oak Leaf Bike Trail when they both saw a large, brown cat with a stub tail walk out from the wooded area, leap into the air over the path and walk back into the woods.
The officer and resident described the cat as being as tall as a large dog and having a light brown face, similar to a bobcat's. The cat had a nub tail and no spots.
The officer followed the cat into the woods to look for tracks, and also found and collected scat of unknown origin. The evidence was turned over to an area wildlife supervisor who is investigating the sighting.
» Read Full ArticleGreendale police arrest boy for graffiti damage
Greendale — Police arrested a boy on May 10 for criminal damage to property in connection with several graffiti incidents throughout the village.
According to the police report:
Greendale police received information from a potential suspect's mother who saw the graffiti at the Community Center and recognized it to be similar to graffiti tagging she had seen in her house.
Police arrested the boy for the tagging and he was released with a court date in Children's Court.
After his release, new tagging began appearing again throughout the Village. An investigation found that the same suspect was tagging again, and he was subsequently arrested. This time, he was held in custody at the Milwaukee County Children's Court Center.
» Read Full ArticleJudge dismisses Sikh group lawsuit filed in wake of Oak Creek temple shooting
A judge has dismissed a Sikh group's U.S. lawsuit against a Indian official who was in Wisconsin last year in the wake of the mass shooting at the Sikh temple at Oak Creek.
After months of litigation, conflicting testimony and suggestion of a government coverup, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman ruled Friday that the lawsuit was never served on the defendant, Parkash Singh Badal.
Sikhs for Justice vow to appeal, saying what Adelman terms a case mistaken identity is actually a matter of witness tampering and obstruction of justice.
Sikhs for Justice sued in Milwaukee under the federal Torture Victim Protection and Alien Tort laws, which grants jurisdiction in U.S. courts. The suit contends that Badal oversaw torture and murder of Sikhs in India, where the religious minority has been the subject of persecution by the Hindu majority.
Badal was in the Milwaukee area last summer to attend local businessman Darshan Dhaliwal's daughter's wedding .Because his region is home to thousands of Sikhs, Badal found himself thrust into the news as he met with temple shooting survivors and spoke to area reporters.
» Read Full ArticleFranklin elementary to reopen today after illnesses
Pleasant View Elementary School in Franklin reopens today after at least 50 students were sent home sick Thursday, according to WDJT-TV (Channel 58).
When the students and a few staff members suffered vomiting, nausea, diarrhea and fevers, the district decided to cancel classes on Friday so the building could be cleaned. District officials said if students still have symptoms Monday, they should remain at home.
Apartment expansion planned for Oak Creek
Southfield Apartments, in Oak Creek, is planning to eventually add 56 units under a proposal that was reviewed this week by the city Plan Commission.
Southfield, which is west of S. 13th St. and a few blocks north of W. Rawson Ave., would develop the units in seven separate buildings on 2.5 acres next to its current 19-acre campus, according to the proposal.
Oak Creek officer shot during Sikh temple rampage retiring
Oak Creek Police Lt. Brian Murphy, the first officer on the scene during the Aug. 5 shooting at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin, said Wednesday that he turned in paperwork to retire from the force.
His last day is expected to be June 12.
Murphy was hit with 12 bullets during the attack. He has a duty-incurred disability, ending his 22-year career on the Oak Creek force. He previously worked a year as a deputy in the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department.
"I didn't heal enough for the doctors to deem me eligible to go back to work," said Murphy, 52.
Six Sikh worshippers were killed in the attack and three others were wounded. The gunman, Wade Michael Page, killed himself after he was taken down with a rifle shot by Oak Creek officer Sam Lenda.
» Read Full ArticleFranklin police investigating robbery at KFC
Franklin — The Police Department is investigating a robbery at KFC, 6311 S. 27th St., on Friday.
Sgt. Kevin Magno said the department received a call about the robbery just after 10 p.m. when the restaurant was closing, and officers were immediately dispatched to the scene.
Officers from Franklin, Greenfield and Oak Creek, including Oak Creek's canine unit, responded to the restaurant but were unable to find any suspects.
Officers are still gathering information on three suspects who brandished a undisclosed weapon, including pulling surveillance video, Magno said.
No one was injured during the robbery and an undisclosed amount of money was taken.
» Read Full ArticleFranklin honors outgoing library director
Franklin - Mayor Frank Taylor recognized the outstanding service of outgoing Franklin Library Director Barbara Roark with a proclamation in her honor at the May 7 Common Council meeting.
"Barbara is much more than a librarian. She is the heart and soul of this community, and she leaves our library as the center of our city's cultural life," Taylor said.
After 15 years on the job, Roark leaves to spend more time with her family in Indiana, where she expects to welcome a new grandchild.
Roark helped organize a $5.8 million referendum to build the new library, 9151 W. Loomis Road. In 2000, the measure passed with 63 percent of the vote, and when construction was finished nearly two years later, it came under budget by about $300,000.
In 2002, Roark was named the Wisconsin Library Association's Muriel Fuller award recipient.
» Read Full ArticleReader's Digest may have buyer for Greendale office building
Reader’s Digest Assocation Inc. may have found a buyer for its office building in Greendale, a former employee tells me.
There has been strong interest from prospective buyers for the 164,800-square-foot building, 5400 S. 60th St., said Susan Russ, vice president of global communications at White Plains, N.Y.-based Reader’s Digest. The company is evaluating “potential opportunities,” but nothing is yet final, she said.
Regardless of a building sale, Reader’s Digest will keep an operation in the greater Milwaukee area, Russ said. The Greendale building was the longtime headquarters of Reiman Publications, owner of Taste of Home and other magazines, before Reader’s Digest bought that business in 2002.
At that time, Reiman had more 500 employees, most of them in Greendale. Reader’s Digest, which is reorganizing its finances under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time since 2009, now has around 200 employees at the Greendale office, Russ said.
The former employee told me Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Wisconsin is rumored to be the buyer of the Greendale building.
» Read Full ArticleFranklin High School evacuated due to unusual odor
Franklin - The Fire Department was called about 8 a.m. today to Franklin High School to investigate a report of a smell of natural gas.
The high school was evacuated while fire crews investigated the odor, said Meghan Dade, communications coordinator for the Franklin School District.
After the investigation, firefighters determined that the odor was not natural gas, and believe it came from a battery that was charging overnight in the school's auto shop. When the battery was removed and the area aired out, the smell was gone, Dade said.
The school day is continuing as normal.
"We take issues of safety seriously and we thank our students, staff and families for their cooperation," Dade said.
Classes resume at Franklin High School after evacuation
No natural gas leaks were detected at Franklin High School by We Energies Thursday morning, a We Energies spokesman said.
School officials said the Franklin Fire Department removed what was believed to be the source of the odor and that classes resumed. District officials did not identify the suspected source.
Students were evacuated from the building while the Franklin Fire Department and the utility company investigate a possible gas leak Thursday morning. Firefighters were called to the school about 7:40 a.m.
Eight Oak Creek police officers to be honored at White House
The first eight Oak Creek police officers who rushed to the scene to stop a mass shooting at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin will be honored in Washington this weekend during a ceremony Saturday in the Rose Garden at the White House and a law-enforcement awards dinner Sunday night.
The eight are among the recipients of the TOP COPS Award presented by the National Association of Police Organizations.
Seven people, including the gunman, died in the Aug. 6 attack.
The first officer on the scene, Lt. Brian Murphy, confronted the gunman, was shot 15 times and survived.
Oak Creek officer Sam Lenda wounded the gunman with a rifle shot. The gunman, Wade Michael Page, then killed himself.
» Read Full ArticleOak Creek police arrest woman for providing escort services without license
Oak Creek - A woman was arrested for providing escort services without a license and possession of drug paraphernalia after police discovered what she said was a massage business April 24.
According to the Oak Creek police report:
Officers and K9 Officer Bronco responded to the Candlewood Suites, 6440 S. 13th St., after an employee called to report drug use and prostitution in a room about 3:30 p.m. April 24.
Officers found the woman had a massage table set up in her room, and there was a man present.
Officers questioned the woman about the table, and she told police she charges $80 to give massages in the room at the hotel.
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