10 charged with burglary in connection with looting of Milwaukee stores during violent protests
MILWAUKEE -- Milwaukee County prosecutors filed burglary charges against nine Milwaukee men and one woman in connection with looting in Milwaukee in the wake of the officer-involved death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25.
Charges are as follows:
The incidents occurred between May 27 and June 1 -- the crimes occurring after peaceful protests in Milwaukee following Floyd's death.
While it may seem like a lot of arrests, for one business owner, it represents a small portion of the people who were looting his store.
"Everything here was full," said Sam Ramahi, owner of Trend Benderz. "Everything has been taken out. All my tables are empty."
Trend Benderz near 35th Street and Capitol Drive was one of the stores wiped bare. When the owner watched the surveillance video -- he couldn't believe what he saw.
"So far, we are estimating damage with inventory anywhere between $600,000 to $700,000," said Ramahi.
Damage to Trend Benderz after Milwaukee protests.
Damage to Trend Benderz after Milwaukee protests.
Surveillance of damage to Trend Benderz after Milwaukee protests.
Prosecutors said Gilbert and Nelson were among those swarming in. Gilbert told police he was "going to take something from the store" after seeing it had been broken into, but was "stopped by the police outside" before he could, according to prosecutors. Nelson told police he was just released from prison, and saw people carrying shoes out of the store. According to prosecutors, he said he went in, but all of the shoes had already been taken.
Two others were arrested in a case of looting at Value Beauty near Teutonia Avenue and Florist Street on June 1. Prosecutors said Jones and Miller were involved in that crime -- with a DOJ special agent observing Jones leaving the store with "arms full of merchandise." Miller was located with an "aluminum baseball bat, hammer and two unopened cellphone boxes" in his vehicle, court documents said.
FOX6 News stopped by both businesses Tuesday -- and both remained boarded up.
The owner of Trend Benderz said it only took 15 minutes for looters to clear his shelves.