Pick 'n Save Has a Couple of Wild Days

When what would be just a couple of mundane shoplifting incidents on successive days turn into a flurry of charges and a running shuttle to the County Jail, with heroin, felony warrants, resisting security and obstructing arrest – well, you've had a rough couple days.

At 5:43 March 11, a 20-year-old Hartland woman was arrested on theft, obstructing and drug charges after she was seen concealing merchandise at the Pick ‘n Save at 12735 W. Capitol Dr.

The young woman was detained but became belligerent with security employees. Then she began to struggle. Then she began to fight. Eventually, she had to be handcuffed before police even arrived.

Clearly visible in the woman's open purse were the things she tried to take: $119 worth of various cosmetics, candy and whipped cream.

In her pockets she had another story: syringes and a metal cooking cap, a tourniquet, and four foil "dubs" of white powder that later tested positive as heroin.

The suspect gave police a false name. They knew it. She stuck to it. But a Morpho Touch fingerprint check revealed her true identity and earned her a criminal obstruction count.

She was also booked for theft, possession of drug paraphernalia and, of course, possession of Schedule I narcotics. To top it off, she was found to have a probation warrant, so there would be no order to appear for her. She was taken straight to jail.

Now can we see your baby, please?

The next evening, at 8:20 p.m. March 12 at the same Pick 'n Save, a 19-year-old Milwaukee woman and a 37-year-old Milwaukee man were arrested for theft and on outstanding warrants after they tried to make off with “loads” of baby formula and liquor.

The were seen, carrying a baby carrier, just shoving baby formula into their coats and trying to hurry out, but they were stopped at the door.

They, too, were belligerent, but at least they did not fight or flee. Police found them grim and uncooperative, but not resisting.

Each of them had five containers of baby formula on their persons at $16.49 apiece, and she also had a shot glass and a mini-glass set worth a few bucks.

Inside the baby carrier, blanketed to look like it perhaps held a sleeping angel, were instead four more containers of baby formula and eight fifths of liquor – all together worth $227.73 more.

Both suspects gave police the false name runaround, but the young woman made it easy on officers – she had her actual ID card on her. Her older companion stubbornly held to his story until, again, fingerprints gave him up.

She had a warrant for her arrest from Menomonee Falls; he had a Greendale warrant and another for violating probation, so it was off to jail for him as well.