(The Center Square) – The Mequon Police Department told The Center Square on Monday that there was one additional burglary over the weekend related to a string of recent burglaries of area homes. The burglary was reported on Monday morning.
The department alerted other area police departments of the burglaries last week, saying it believes that an organization out of South America has coordinated property thefts at area homes during the early evening hours on Thursdays through Sundays after entering homes through the backyard.
The department shared video of the incidents with The Center Square.
Mequon Police Operations Commander John Hoell told The Center Square that there are similarities between the recent burglaries and a burglary of the home of Milwaukee Bucks player Bobby Portis, which happened a year ago in River Hills during a Bucks game when nearly $1,500 worth of items were stolen.
That burglary was believed to be part of a string of high profile athlete burglaries from a Chilean South American theft group that led to charges against seven Chilean nationals for more than $2 million worth of items from athletes including Portis, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and unnamed Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Memphis Grizzlies players.
Mequon says that it alerted the other departments in a regional information-sharing meeting last Wednesday.
“The homes were often on cul-de-sacs or dead-end roads, near wooded areas or golf courses, and unoccupied at the time of the break-in,” the department said.
Items stolen included jewelry, watches, designer purses and cash.
Police believe the burglars used trail cams and monitoring devices to monitor comings and goings of residents.
Police said that audible security systems and exterior cameras are a deterrent and asked residents to always activate the alarms and cameras when they leave home, even for a short time.
Residents are asked to contact the Mequon Police Department on its non-emergency number at 262-242-3500 immediately if suspicious activity is observed and, if it is safe to do so, obtain and provide a description of clothing and the vehicle’s license plate, make, model and color.
U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-7th Congressional, said that the burglaries are a result of poor border policy.
“This is what Democrats imported into our country, and now not a single Democrat running for governor will condemn it or support removing these criminals from our communities,” Tiffany said in a statement. “I have fought for strong border security for years on the House Judiciary Committee. As governor, I will ban sanctuary jurisdictions and work with federal and local law enforcement to make Wisconsin safe again.”
