Brothers Charged in String of Waukesha Thefts

Two brothers are accused of stealing items from five different Waukesha residences in December before an alert neighbor contacted police, according to a criminal complaint.

Travis A. Rehberg, 18, of Waukesha, and Tyler J. Rehberg, 19, of New Berlin, were charged Wednesday with burglary, four misdemeanor counts of theft, and obstructing an officer. If convicted, they both face up to 11-1/4 years in prison and $75,000 in fines.

According to the complaint:

A woman reported at 1:11 a.m. Dec. 7 that she spotted three individuals trying to get into her garage. While an officer was responding, she kept an eye on the people as the headed toward Greenfield Avenue.

A responding officer located a vehicle in a garage in the 700 block of Greenfield Avenue with a lit dome light. He spotted three people in the garage, who fled from the scene while he yelled “Stop, police!”

One person jumped over a fence and the other two people ran down Linden Street. Backup police officers detained one of the people involved – a 15-year-old boy who identified his cohorts as the Rehberg brothers.

In the course of the investigation, it was learned the brothers:

• Stole items while “car shopping” from 20 vehicles parked at the Waukesha Public Library.
• Stole a gym bag and a GPS from a vehicle in the 800 block of Lincoln Avenue
• Stole two iPods and a charger from a vehicle in the 300 block of Barney Street
• Stole a GPS from a vehicle parked in the 700 block of Linden Street
• Stole a backpack from the 400 block of North East Avenue
• Entered a garage in the 700 block of North Greenfield Avenue

The brothers will be in court March 11. The complaint does not state if the juvenile involved faces prosecution.