Phone call spoils murder plot in Wauwatosa

WAUWATOSA -- A single phone call may have saved a Wauwatosa man's life. Police say that call stopped a potential murder by a man who had allegedly been plotting for months to kill an old acquaintance.

When the 54-year-old suspect, Daniel Plevak, was found by Wauwatosa police, he had a 22-caliber handgun loaded with hollow-tip bullets. He was also wearing a disguise they say included a fake arm.

It was a normal Sunday afternoon on Argonne Dr. in Wauwatosa when neighbors began to notice a yellow Penske truck driving up and down the block.

"Continually every eight or so minutes slowly driving by. I mean it doesn't take somebody eight times to drive by to find an address as far as I'm concerned," said neighbor Lewis Poberezny.

Poberezny called police. They pulled over the truck and found Plevak inside. He had a gun and a picture of someone who lives on the block. But Plevak did not look as he does in his mug shot.

"When I drove by he had a lime green, looked like a safety vest on, like you might see a road worker wearing for high visibility," said Poberezny. "It looked like he had real dark curly hair. I'm to believe now that it may have been a wig."

According to police, Plevak was not just wearing a wig, but dark sunglasses, a fake mustache, and he apparently had a fake arm. According to a search warrant obtained by FOX6 News, police believe it was all part of Plevak's plan.

According to the criminal complaint, when police search Plevak's home, they found evidence he had been planning to kill a Wauwatosa man for at least six months. All of the suspected planning was foiled, and a life potentially saved because Poberezny made that call.

"Anything that doesn't look normal in my neighborhood, I'm not afraid to call the cops. And if it's maybe I've wasted five minutes of their time, I may have done some good somewhere. And evidently I didn't waste their time and I did do some good," said Poberezny.

Plevak will be in court next week for his preliminary hearing. If convicted on the attempted homicide charge, he faces up to 60 years in prison.

Monitor FOX6 News and FOX6Now.com for updates on this developing story.