Crime & Safety
Police Make Arrest in Textbook Thefts
A 29-year-old Waukesha man is charged with stealing $1,200 worth of books from the college bookstore, according to a criminal complaint.
A 29-year-old Waukesha man is facing charges after he was caught stealing more than $1,200 worth of books from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee bookstore, according to a criminal complaint.
Ryan Scott Mottet was charged in Milwaukee County Circuit Court Monday with one count of felony retail theft. If convicted, he faces up to 3-1/2 years in prison and $10,000 in fines.
According to the criminal complaint:
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On Sept. 26, Mottet went into the bookstore when an employee noticed him as the same person who had been in the store two days earlier and walked off with books on advanced accounting and marketing researched valued at $517.
The employee called the UW-Milwaukee Police Department and chased Mottet out of the store. When the officer arrived, he spotted the employee chasing Mottet, who tried to hide behind a fence before being taken into custody.
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Mottet told officers he stole the books and sold them to a friend for $85. He said he also planned to steal more books before getting chased out of the store so he could sell them as well.
Employees reviewed security video footage from the store and discovered Mottet stole books on Sept. 20, 21 and 22 as well. Those thefts were valued at $1,270.
