Last Wednesday, October 1, the Village of Pewaukee Police Department responded to a call that multiple credit cards had been stolen in the Town of Brookfield.
The suspect was a female who had stolen from several different individuals. The victims of the theft were all targeted at a local Yoga Studio.
After the theft, the female suspect then proceeded to attempt to purchase upwards of $4,000 of electronics from a local retail store, most likely the Costco in Pewaukee.
The attempted transaction was denied, which caused the suspect to immediately flee the scene. Police were not able to get to the suspect prior to her leaving and arrived there shortly afterwards.
The officers were able to identify the suspect as a non-United States citizen.
Officers then issued a nationwide alert for the suspec.
Three days later, on Saturday, October 4, the vehicle that the female suspect had used while traveling to the store in Pewaukee was spotted at a hotel in Kentucky. Further investigation found that this vehicle was left at the location.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have been notified of the situation due to the suspect’s status as an illegal immigrant.
If and when the suspect is detained, ICE will seek deportation.
This Pewaukee incident comes in the wake of greater ICE presences throughout Wisconsin, noticeably in areas such as Madison and Manitowoc.
Last month, on September 25, ICE officials arrested 24 illegal aliens in Manitowoc County who were suspected to have ties to an international human trafficking and drug trafficking operation.
This was part of an intelligence operation that was carried out alongside federal agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Similar arrests took place just a week later in Madison, on October 2.
Seven individuals were taken into custody by ICE on Madison’s northeast side. Each of the arrests came from a single residence.
This was the first confirmed ICE operation held in the city of Madison, although there have been rumors swirling for months that the federal agency was targeting Madison.
In Kentucky, where the suspect is located, there have been nearly 1,300 ICE arrests, which is a 37.6% increase from the previous year.
