More Than $6,000 in Cell Phones Stolen From Fox Point Store

When the owner of a Verizon store, 8671 N. Port Washington Rd., called to investigate a possible employee theft, he had no idea that the more than $6,000 in stolen phones could be linked to other recent cell phone thefts in Milwaukee County.

When police met with the Verizon store owner around 11:30 a.m. Aug. 18, they also met with the store's two newest employees.

The owner told officers there were 13 cell phones missing and no sign of forced entry, leading the owner to suspect that one of the two new employees, each of whom has a key, came back during the night, used their key, and took the phones. He was certain that both the front and rear doors were locked and the phones were on the shelves when the owner left the store.

Police spoke with both employees, and while both acknowledged that they do in fact have keys, neither admitted to stealing any cell phones.

When the officer returned to the station, another officer notified him that he found the rear door unlocked at the Verizon store about a month ago while investigating a neighboring business. The report says that the rear doors connect to a common hall that is shared by a few other businesses.

Meanwhile, a teletype message from the Franklin Police Department said that department is investigating a theft of five phones from a Verizon store. The report says a group of “Palestinians” came in and distracted the employees while one person slipped into the back room and took the phones.

When officers went back to talk to the manager, they informed him of the two other possible thefts. The owner said a group of foreign-looking people came in and was asking him about a business plan. He told police he thought they were suspicious, but that he is certain they did not get into the back area where the phones were kept.

The owner told police he will keep the store closed until he is able to install a video surveillance system. The report says the phones are unable to be used because they are now “blacklisted” and cannot be activated on any cellular network.

The stolen items include:

• Four HTC Incredible 2 phones, valued at $418 each.
• One HTC Trophy, valued at $432.
• One Apple iPhone 16G, valued at $659.99.
• Two Samsung Droid Charge phones, valued at $572 each.
• Two HTC Thunderbold phones, valued at $572 each.
• One Casio Commando, valued at $387.
• Two Motorola Droid phones, valued at $442 each.

The total loss for all 13 phones comes to $6,322.99.