A Milwaukee man is charged with three felonies and a misdemeanor after officials say he broke into a West Allis home, stole more than $26,000 in jewelry and tried to sell the items at a pawn shop.
Kirsten Nelson, 43, is charged with burglary, theft of movable property, felony bail jumping and resisting an officer. If convicted on all counts, Nelson faces up to 29 years and three months in prison and $70,000 in fines.
A West Allis couple reported a Sept. 18 burglary at their home
On Sept. 18, a married West Allis couple told police their home had been entered without permission and jewelry had been stolen.
The woman said she and her husband left that morning, locking the doors and windows before leaving. When she returned about two hours later, she found a piece of furniture scratched and some jewelry missing.
Security cameras showed at 11:21 a.m., while the couple was away, a man walked through the backyard, went to the front of the home and rang the doorbell several times before heading back toward the rear. The man’s face, clothing, shoes and tattoo were seen in the footage.
Police later found a broken basement window with blood on it and several blood droplets inside the house.
Police later saw Nelson with a woman at Pawn America in West Allis
At about 2:15 p.m. the same day, a West Allis police officer went to Pawn America, 7530 W. Lincoln Ave., to check if any of the stolen items had turned up there. In the parking lot, he saw Nelson with a woman and recognized him from the victim’s camera footage. A still image saved on the officer’s phone also matched Nelson’s description.
The officer approached the vehicle and told Nelson and the woman to sit down while he waited for backup. Nelson then took off running, jumped a fence and cut through nearby yards before the officer caught and arrested him, according to the criminal complaint.
Nelson later admitted to a detective that he rang the doorbell of the victim’s home, entered through the basement window and stole jewelry, the complaint said.
One of the victims provided police with a list of stolen items valued at $26,277. Some pieces had previously been appraised, with paperwork showing a combined value of $11,057 for those items.
Police recovered many — but not all — of the stolen items from an apartment in Milwaukee, later determined to be the woman’s residence. She told detectives that Nelson had called her on the morning of Sept. 18 asking for a ride. He placed bags of jewelry in her car, and she drove him to the pawn shop parking lot where police confronted him, the complaint said.
While Nelson ran from officers, she drove away with the bags in her car and later brought them into her apartment, the complaint said.
Nelson was out on bail for a previous burglary when arrested
Nelson was on bail pending a Milwaukee County burglary case from 2024. A bench warrant was issued on Jan. 18, 2024, after he failed to appear in court. He remained at large until his arrest on Sept. 18. As a condition of his bond, Nelson had been ordered not to commit any new crimes.
During his initial court appearance on Sept. 24, a cash bond of $2,500 was set. He is scheduled to return to court on Sept. 30 for a preliminary hearing.
Adrienne Davis is a south suburban reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Got any tips or stories to share? Contact Adrienne at amdavis@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @AdriReportss.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee man charged in $26K West Allis jewelry burglary