Sherman Gardens Apartments fire, victims return to break-ins

Apartment fire victims return to break-ins

Fire victims from an apartment building fire near Sherman and Florist on July 20 finally returned home and found they were victims of something else - theft.

MILWAUKEE - The victims of an apartment building fire that happened on July 20 returned home to find themselves victims of something else - theft.

The apartment owner Berada Properties, told some of them they could come back to stay. The smoke has cleared but not their problems.

"Trash was everywhere," said Quinesia Carter.

Sherman Gardens Apartments break-ins

What was supposed to be a homecoming for Carter was instead finding someone else making themselves at home.

"They took a bowel movement in the bathroom; they defecated," said Carter. "Didn't flush the toilet, didn't have no tissue in the toilet."

The fire ravaged the Sherman Gardens Apartments, and some time since then, someone broke in.

"They took my laptop, they took my tablets, they took my 65-inch TV that was up here," said Carter. "They went through my nail stuff."

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Sherman Gardens Apartments break-ins

"I don't know what toys they took, but I know some toys are missing," Carter said. "You take it from kids? Like, really? In a time of desperate need, you going to take from people who needed it? We just had a fire, and you couldn't do nothing better with your life?"

Carter was not the only one; several apartments were ransacked.

"I had been collecting $2 bills for so long, for years, had them in there, they took that," said Dennis Teague.

Teague was coming home after staying at a Red Cross shelter.

"At the end of the day, you can't do nothing but move on," said Teague.

Carter's home is empty as she tries to figure out what's next for her and her five kids.

"All the things that we just worked so hard for when we just moved in here are gone," said Carter. "Everything that we just worked hard to get is gone. What my kids going to play with? What are they going to watch? Like, we don't have anything, just our clothes that they did leave us."

What the fire didn't take, the thieves did.

"We're trying to get ourselves good after the fire and now, this," said Carter. "I am blessed. I am happy that I still got a roof over my head because I would be homeless."

Berrada Properties did not respond to FOX6 News about whether they have any leads on the thieves. Milwaukee police are still investigating and didn't share anything else on if they have suspects in the break-ins.