CHARGED: Criminal complaint against 3 teens offers new details into numerous burglaries in Waukesha
WAUKESHA COUNTY (WITI) -- Three teenagers have been officially charged in connection with their roles in burglaries of several homes in Waukesha.
Charged are: 18-year-old Collin Hoya, 17-year-old Johnathon Lilteich, and 18-year-old Harley McKay -- all of Waukesha.
The three each face three felony charges of burglary of a building or dwelling as party to a crime -- and one felony charge of burglary -- arming self with a dangerous weapon as party to a crime.
Additionally, Lilteich and McKay each face one felony count of possession of a firearm by a felon.
The criminal complaint against the teens says Waukesha police on July 9th responded to a burglary complaint at a home on Dana Lane.
There, they met with the homeowner, who advised that he was awakened around 2:00 a.m. by a noise he heard downstairs. The complaint says the man armed himself with a hockey stick, and began to go through his home to secure it. That's when he told police he noticed the sliding door that leads to the kitchen was left open.
The complaint says the homeowner also noticed a basement window open -- with the window's screen removed from the outside of the home.
The complaint says various items were taken from the home -- including about $130 in cash, and iPad Air, and a $30 bottle of whiskey.
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That same day, July 9th, police met with a homeowner on Leslie Lane in response to a burglary. There, the homeowners reported at some time on or about July 9th -- their home had been entered, and various items were removed -- including two black iPads, a Galaxy S3 phone and approximately $90 in cash -- according to the criminal complaint.
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Later that day, the complaint says police met with a homeowner on Riverton Drive -- who is also a Waukesha police officer. He reported that at some point during the overnight hours, someone had entered his residence and had removed property. The man told police he believed the person(s) entered his home via the side garage door. The man told police it appeared as though his wife's car had been gone through -- and a Coach wristlet was taken from the vehicle.
The complaint says the man told police his home was entered through an unlocked garage door, and items were taken out of his wife's purse and strewn about the dining room table.
The complaint says the man reported approximately $120 in cash was taken from his wife's purse. Other items reported taken include a white Apple iPod and a silver 13-inch Apple MacBook Air.
The complaint says the man told police was at work when this happened -- and his wife was sleeping upstairs.
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On July 9th, the complaint says police met with another homeowner on Dana Lane. That homeowner reported someone had entered his home overnight, via an open basement window. The complaint says there were small squares cut into the screen by retaining pins on the screen window that allowed for the screen window to be removed.
The complaint says the homeowner told police he was asleep at the time -- and four other family members were also sleeping inside the home.
The homeowner told police the following property was taken from his home: a white iPhone, a Samsung Galaxy S3 cell phone, $120 in cash, a container of mace, and an iPad belonging to the homeowner's son -- issued by the City of Waukesha School District.
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On July 13th, police were dispatched to a home on Thrush Lane for a burglary complaint. There, the complaint says a homeowner told police his home was entered sometime between 11:00 p.m. on July 7th and 4:00 a.m. on July 8th.
The complaint says the homeowner got up and noticed his garage service door was slightly open, and the light in the garage was on.
The complaint says the homeowner initially noticed money missing from his wallet -- but he later realized guns had been taken from a room in his basement. The homeowner told police two guns had been removed, along with a scope and various shells.
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The criminal complaint against these teenagers says police were advised by the Waukesha police officer who reported his home had been burglarized that the Mac laptop taken from his home contained some type of locating software.
On July 14th, the complaint says police learned the laptop was powered on, and showed a location in the 300 block of Douglas Avenue.
Police say Johnathon Lilteich's bedroom is located about 20 feet from the address the locating software was showing.
The complaint says because Lilteich was known to police as having been involved in previous burglaries, so they searched garbage set out for pickup in front of his home. Police were able to recover items of property taken from the burglaries police were investigating beginning on July 9th -- including an iPad taken from a home on Dana Lane.
Then, police obtained a search warrant to search Lilteich's residence.
During that search, the complaint says police found additional property related to the burglaries.
The complaint says police found a gun taken during one of the burglaries in Lilteich's vehicle. In his bedroom, police found the Coach wristlet taken from the home of the Waukesha police officer -- on Riverton Drive.
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The complaint says police spoke with Lilteich, who admitted he, McKay and Hoya went out together one night and broke into homes.
Lilteich told police he and McKay went into all of the homes -- but Hoya only went into some of the homes. Lilteich told police that at first, Hoya was afraid to go inside, according to the complaint.
The complaint says Lilteich told police he and the others went into "four or five" homes that night, and took between $400 and $500, which "they split amongst themselves."
The complaint says Lilteich told police he drank the entire bottle of whiskey taken from one of the homes in the backyard of one of the homes -- saying he was drunk when he and the others took part in these burglaries.
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The complaint says police spoke with Harley McKay -- who told them he had received "a free gun" from Lilteich -- saying that when he learned Lilteich's home was raided, he realized the gun was probably stolen, so he hid it.
The complaint says both Lilteich and McKay were previously adjudicated delinquents of a felony and prohibited from possessing firearms.
The complaint says McKay eventually admitted to police that Lilteich had asked he and Hoya if they wanted to break into homes. McKay told police that in 50 to 60 percent of the homes, Lilteich went into the home and Hoya stayed in the garage next to the door to the house, and McKay stayed in the garage to the back as a lookout, according to the complaint.
The complaint says McKay told police they tried a lot of houses -- but only five or six were actually entered.
The complaint says McKay told police all of the property taken from the homes was taken back to Lilteich's home, where Lilteich placed it in his car. McKay said the money was split between the three -- with Lilteich getting more because he went into the homes.
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Police spoke with Hoya, and the complaint says he told them he had been hanging out with Lilteich and McKay for the past month -- and they had taken part in numerous burglaries.
The complaint says Hoya told police the homes they broke into were only a few blocks away from McKay's girlfriend's house.
Hoya told police he did not go inside a home at any point -- and said he simply acted as a lookout and helped "carry stuff" according to the complaint.
However, the complaint says during the burglary at the police officer's home, Hoya told police he came into the garage to look through a purse that was taken from the home.
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In a separate case, McKay and Hoya face misdemeanor charges in connection with burglaries that occurred back in April.
McKay and Hoya each face five misdemeanor counts of theft as party to a crime.
The complaint in that case says on April 9th, a Waukesha South High School resource officer was alerted to numerous thefts that had taken place on April 8th -- during a school concert.
The complaint says the officer was alerted that two males had been seen on security camera taking items.
The officer spoke with a witness, who said that after the concert ended, she learned items were missing from students. The complaint says this witness told the officer she believed McKay and Hoya were responsible.
The complaint says this witness told the officer after the concert, she went over to another student's home, and McKay and Hoya were there. The complaint says that Hoya pulled out a blue iPhone from his pocket and asked another student to reset the phone. The complaint says Hoya also had a Nintendo DS and two gift cards with him.
The complaint says the witness told the officer either Hoya or McKay had talked about getting rid of a bag or backpack near a garbage can -- and the witness told the officer she encouraged McKay and Hoya to take back the items, believing she could be blamed since she knew them. The complaint says a blue iPhone was taken back to the school -- and the next day, she was able to retrieve more items that were taken, and turned them over to the principal.
Police were able to review surveillance video, that shows two individuals, identified as McKay and Hoya walk to the band room area. The complaint says McKay is seen walking away from the band room area holding a bag -- pulling items from it.
The complaint says the surveillance video shows Hoya acting as a lookout.
The complaint says five students reported items missing to police, including things like cell phones, keys and wallets.
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Police located McKay and took him into custody. The complaint says he told police he and Hoya had gone to the school for a choir concert on April 8th.
The complaint says McKay admitted to police to taking items from bags near the band room area.
The complaint says when police spoke with Hoya, he admitted to going into the band room with McKay and taking some bags from that room.
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Another separate case charges Harley McKay and another teenager -- not charged in connection with any of the other incidents. He is 19-year-old Andrew Burgermeister of Waukesha.
McKay and Burgermeister each face three charges of misdemeanor theft as party to a crime for burglaries that occurred on October 10th of 2013.
The complaint says an officer working at the Waukesha South High School football game was alerted by a student in the band that members of the band had items taken during the football game. Specifically -- three students reported money missing. The band director told the officer the total amount of money reported missing was $50.
The complaint says the officer viewed surveillance video from the high school -- and in that video, two males are seen entering the band room while the football game is going on. They were identified as McKay and Burgermeister.
The complaint says police spoke with Burgermeister, who said he was in the band room during the football game with McKay -- but only to look at a drum. Police spoke with McKay -- who told the same story.
The complaint says police interviews with Burgermeister and McKay were done at different times -- and police say the two were texting about the incidents, and the arrest.
The complaint says Burgermeister and McKay told police they had left the band room through the door by the flags -- but police knew this to be untrue, because he observed a gate up -- preventing an exit from that door at the time of this incident.
Additionally, the complaint says during his interview with police, McKay said "$50 ain't nothing."