Man Accused of Stealing Rims From Dealership

A Milwaukee man is accused of stealing car rims from a Brookfield Cadillac dealership.

Frank L. Sias, 50, was charged in Waukesha County Circuit Court Tuesday with one count of theft of more than $2,500 in movable property. If convicted, he faces up to 1 1/2 years in prison and $10,000 in fines.

According to the criminal complaint:

On March 25, Brookfield police officers were called to Crest Cadillac after an employee found someone had stolen all four wheels off a Cadillac DTS and left the vehicle on two jacks. The wheels were valued at between $1,800 and $2,000 each.

At 4:10 a.m. June 24, a police officer was patrolling the Crest parking lot when he spotted Sias walk out from a row of cars and toward the squad car. When asked what he was doing in the lot, Sias told the officer he was there to check out some vehicle and pointed toward a car slowly moving on North 128th Street, saying that was his ride.

Sias then began to jog towards the car even though the officer told him to stop. He got into the car, but the police officer then pulled it over and saw cement blocks and car jacks in the backseat along with a lug nut wrench and special tool used to remove certain lug nuts. The officer went to check if the special tool would fit the cars at Crest, but Sias told them it would not, the complaint alleges.

Sias and the driver of the car were then placed under arrest for prowling. The driver told officers Sias called him up and asked for a ride so he could go steal rims. He said Sias is good at doing it and promised to fix his ball joints if he gave him a ride. Sias later admitted to the March theft, saying he sold the rims for $300 in Milwaukee, according to the criminal complaint.

He will make his first appearance in court Nov. 15.