MONONA, Wis. (WMTV) -A Fitchburg man is behind bars, again, after being connected to a burglary Monday morning at Monona Lakeview apartments, off of Monona Drive. Residents are getting their belongings back, after police recovered hundreds of items from the suspect’s home.
WMTV spoke with Chelsea Blank, a Monona Lakeview resident, on Tuesday to catch up on the last few months.
In early February, WMTV talked with Blank after she had just been burglarized while displaced from her apartment after a fire.
“A lot has changed,” Blank explained.
Some of Blank’s items reported stolen were found and returned to her by the Monona Police Department, including a camera gimble attachment and lens. Others, like her camera, are still missing.
“This is my gimble that I use to stabilize my camera when I shoot video,” Blank said. “They are probably $500 of the $6,000 of equipment that was taken.”
According to Monona Chief of Police, Brian Chaney, Blank was one of many who was burglarized.
Chaney said that it took months to locate the stolen items. The search started with determining a person of interest.
“As soon as we obtained enough evidence to identify a person of interest it is enough evidence to follow the breadcrumbs,” Chaney said.
MOPD then obtained an approved search warrant, for the person of interest’s home in rural Fitchburg.
“We found a whole host of our evidence not only within the home itself but in adjoining sheds and storage units that were on the property,” said Chaney.
He added that during the search, the amount of items they found that were reported as stolen, led police to believe the alleged burglaries extend beyond Lakeview apartments.
“We were able to execute a search warrant, and locate hundreds and hundreds of items that were reported as stolen or missing from our burglary investigation. But also we discovered hundreds more that were not part of our investigation, from across Dane County,” said Chaney.
He added that from what he saw, “this is someone who I would identify as a prolific burglar in our area.”
WMTV obtained the criminal complaint from the Dane County DA’s office, detailing the search of the residence and the suspect’s arrest earlier this month.
The complaint showed the officers also found nearly 15 grams of methamphetamine in the residence at the time of the search, a Class 1 Felony. If convicted, the suspect could be fined up to $10,000 and/or serve up to three and a half years in jail. The court can also chose to suspend his driving privilege’s for anywhere between six months and five years.
It also lists the suspect is facing a felony charge for bail jumping, a Class H Felony. If convicted, the suspect could owe up to $10,000 or be behind bars for up to six years, or both.
The suspect was arrested again, early Monday morning, while out on bail from his previous arrest. He was caught, allegedly burglarizing Monona Lakeview apartments again.
MOPD said he was brought into jail on multiple offenses including: attempted burglary to a dwelling, possession of burglarious tools, violation of restraining order and two counts of felony bail jumping.
“He was in jail then released on bail and tried to come here again and they arrested him again,” said Blank in disbelief. “I was very confused and this can’t be real. How could this be happening?”
Police confirmed with WMTV that the burglaries occurred starting the night of the fire, in January, and continued, likely, into the beginning of April.
“This is complex burglary, that took place not just over a single day or a single incident, this happened over a series of days. Unfortunately, the police departments nor the victims were aware these crimes were happening, because the building had been vacated,” Chaney explained.
Police recovered hundreds of items in relation to their investigation of the Monona burglaries. They began returning those items to residents on Friday morning. Blank said she arrived right at 9 a.m.
“The person in front of me came out with a rolling suitcase full of stuff, and she said it wasn’t all of her stuff,” Blank recalled. “Then I went in, it was a very long process, and they didn’t have my cameras but I did get some of it.”
Police are continuing to investigate, and the suspect is behind bars. He will appear in Dane County Circuit Court for a bail hearing on Thursday.
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