Crime Stoppers: Woman carjacked while babysitting in Riverwest
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A woman was carjacked while taking care of children in broad daylight. Investigators have some of the suspects but they need your help finding the ones that are still out there.
The whole ordeal started on June 17, when a woman took her own child and the kid she was babysitting out for a morning stroll in Milwaukee's Riverwest neighborhood -- near Auer and Weil.
"She was approached by four juveniles who punched her, stole her keys and her car," said Milwaukee Police Department Detective Jasen Rydzewski. "There's a group of individuals in this Riverwest area that have been walking around trying to steal cars."
Thankfully, the children were not harmed. Surveillance video from a nearby store shows the kids walking down the street around the time of the robbery.
"We are looking to identify the person on the right who seems to have a black shirt on and seems to be looking down at the camera. That person shows the person in the other photos which has three in it," said Detective Rydzewski.
Detectives say the suspects drove the stolen Toyota Corolla to Shorewood. Police there saw it, along with suspects in two other cars, a Kia and a Hyundai.
Officers went after the stolen Corolla into Whitefish Bay and saw the suspects in all three cars driving recklessly.
The chase led to the drivers of both the Hyundai and the babysitter's stolen Corolla crashed separately.
The teen driving the Corolla crashed into two elderly women who ended up having to go to the hospital. The suspect driving the Kia got away.
"They processed the vehicle for prints, DNA. we did recover a print hit which led to another arrest of a juvenile which would have been the second actor in the original carjacking. He then was arrested," said Rydzewski.
So far, an adult and two juveniles were arrested, but police are looking for the rest of the group.
CBS 58 asked a detective if he thought it may be the work of the "Kia Boys," even though other types of cars were involved.
"The original carjackers that stole the keys from the victim did go into a hardware store just prior to this and stole a screwdriver. The significance is you can used the screw driver in the ignition and start these vehicles. The carjackers in the neighborhood are looking to steal cars, probably Kias," said Rydzewski.
The worst part about this, the babysitter's 2020 Corolla is totaled, she doesn't have insurance, has to find a way to get around, and is traumatized by what happened.
"I don't think she's been walking anybody in a stroller since then, this changed her quite a bit," said Rydzewski. "Not only are you affected emotionally, terrorized at work, now a major financial loss. I think she's going through a lot."
If you know anything about this crime, or if you witnessed what happened, call Milwaukee Crime Stoppers at 414-224-TIPS. Your call is always anonymous. You can also use the P3 Tips App that is also anonymous. If your tip leads to an arrest you get a cash reward.