"I did something bad:" Would-be burglar targeting tires spends seven hours trapped under truck



SHEBOYGAN COUNTY --  A would-be burglar in Sheboygan County wasn't able to make off with the expensive tires and rims he allegedly tried to steal -- but he's alive. Robert Thalheim spent nearly seven hours pinned under a truck at a car dealership in Plymouth.

Robert Thalheim



A criminal complaint filed Tuesday, June 21st outlines how 45-year-old Thalheim was allegedly after some tires and rims at Meyer Motors -- worth $800 each. The complaint says he used three jacks to hoist up the GMC Denali. He got the tires off, but then, for some reason, he ended up under the truck.

The jacks gave out, and the truck fell.

According to the complaint, the truck fell onto the brake rotors, pinning Thalheim's head between the frame of the vehicle and the asphalt parking lot.



Thalheim's skull was crushed and his collarbone was broken.

It happened around midnight.

Nearly seven hours later, a customer walked by to check out the $65,000 Denali. That customer found Thalheim underneath the truck -- conscious and talking.



According to the complaint, Thalheim told the customer: "I did something bad."

Paramedics were called, and Flight for Life airlifted Thalheim to a hospital.



No one answered at his home on Tuesday when FOX6 News stopped by, but Thalheim was in court on Tuesday.

He faces seven years in prison if convicted of the charges filed against him in this case:


    GMC Denali



    Many are saying Thalheim is lucky he wasn't killed.

    Cash bond has been set at $500 in this case. Thalheim will next be in court on June 29th for his preliminary hearing.

    FOX6 News is told officials recovered the stolen tires -- and there was some damage to the Denali.