Crime & Safety
Pepper Spray Perpetrated by Pants Pilferer, Cops Say
A 17-year-old Milwaukee man is accused of spraying Oleoresin spray at a security guard while trying to steal three pairs of jeans from Kohl's.
Pepper spray didn't help a man charged with pilfering some pants from Kohl's at Bayshore Mall.
Malik R. Howard, 17, was charged in Milwaukee County Circuit Court on Thursday with one count of retail theft and one count of use of Oleoresin spray causing bodily harm. If convicted, he faces up to 18 months in prison and $20,000 in fines.
According to the criminal complaint:
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On Wednesday, a security officer at Kohl’s Department Store saw Howard take eight pairs of jeans into a dressing room, then leave the room with five pairs, put them back and walk out the door of the store. The officer noticed the missing jeans were not in the fitting room, so he followed Howard outside to confront him.
The guard asked for the jeans back, but Howard took off running. The guard called police on his cell phone and while doing so, Howard stopped, turned around and squirted the guard in the face with the Oleoresin spray.
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Glendale police officers arrived at the scene and found Howard with three pairs of jeans and a can of Deterrent Oleoresin spray. Howard admitted to taking the jeans, saying he didn’t have the best Christmas.
He also admitted to spraying the guard, saying he did so because he was trying to get away, according to the complaint.
Howard was assigned a $250 signature bond while awaiting trial.
