Police Reports: Internet Fraud, Street Sign Vandalism, Prowling

A California woman was defrauded by a fictional Brookfield home loan business to which she transferred $4,500, according to police reports.

The Sacramento, CA, woman called Brookfield police about 1 p.m. Friday to report she applied online for a home loan from a company advertising itself as Avesco Financial, 200 S. Executive Dr., Brookfield.

No such business exists. Brookfield police recommended the woman contact her local police department, as well as the IC3.gov Internet Crime Complaint Center.

In other recent police calls: 

• Two Brookfield police officers traveled to Madison on Saturday to assist state Capitol police with crowd control during budget protests that drew more than 60,000 people. Mayor Steve Ponto said officers were not reimbursed financially for the mutual aid assistance. UPDATE on Feb. 23: State Capitol police have now notified communities that they will be reimbursed for mutual aid retroactive to Feb. 17.
• Police are investigating the damage of nearly two dozen streets signs in Brookfield and Elm Grove. Signs such as 25-mph speed-limit signs were found on Sunday bent and falling over, and a newly planted city tree near Calhoun Road and Wisconsin Avenue was knocked down, according to police reports.
• A woman drove to the police station Monday night to say she believed she was being followed by a man she met at the YMCA, 2420 N. 124th St. in Wauwatosa. The woman said the man asked her on a date and after she declined, saying she was married, the man repeatedly walked by her and stared, making her uncomfortable. She said she asked someone to walk her to her car and saw the man leaving at the same time. Feeling she was followed she drove to the police station, an officer escorted her home.
• A 24-year-old woman was cited for municipal retail theft after attempting to conceal a pair of boots inside her coat as she left , 2325 N. 124th St., about 5 p.m. Monday.

• Saying his neighbor's dogs had been outside barking for five hours, a resident called police about 5 p.m. Monday to see what could be done to end the noise. Officers who went to the house in the 19100 block of Baythorne Way found no dogs or noise. 
• Employees at  said they caught a 24-year-old woman who trying to steal $46 worth of bras and underwear in a shopping bag at 3:30 p.m. Monday. She was arrested and cited for municipal retail theft.
• Catching someone peeking in his front window shortly after 9 p.m. Sunday, an Edwards Street resident called police to report a prowler. Officers followed footprints, found and arrested a 38-year-old man who lives on Alfred Street for municipal prowling.
• A Midland Place resident called police to complain at least three youth were throwing snowballs at vehicles near Gebhardt Road and Whitemont Drive about 7:15 p.m. Sunday. Officers could not find the youth.
• An officer who stopped a car for speeding near West Blue Mound and North Moorland roads arrested the 28-year-old male driver for second-offense drunken driving. No details were available about his blood-alcohol level.
• Police took a call of suspicious activity at 13255 W. Blue Mound Rd. The caller said two men in a grey or silver van were repeatedly driving around the lot, parking, then driving and parking Saturday evening. Officers learned it was a valet parking service for a wedding in an adjacent building.
• Officers did not catch a man who fled in a car after stealing a $209 stroller from , 115 S. Moorland Rd., shortly before 6 p.m. Saturday.
• Police were called to the parking lot for by someone concerned about a young child left in a car seat unattended. Officers found a 2-year-old girl asleep in the Ford Escape. Her father came out and told police he decided to leave her in the car because he didn't want to wake her and had been gone five to 10 minutes. Police notified social services.
• Fire and police responded to a fire alarm at 9:22 a.m. Saturday in the 4600 block of North 145th Street. The homeowner told police he was fumigating the house for bugs and it set off the alarm.
• A chain near the city water tower at was cut and a fence damaged sometime last week. 
• A deer hit a Lexus SUV at 2:14 a.m. Saturday near West Burleigh Road and Marti Lane. 
• Nine police squads responded to a report of a battery at  at 11:22 p.m. Friday. Officers found a man and woman arguing in a truck, with the man trying to pull her out and punching her, according to reports. The man said he threw her to the ground after she threw a drink in his face. Information on whether any citations were issued was not immediately available.