Bayshore Kohl's theft, police chase; Robert Hill sentenced
GLENDALE, Wis. - A Milwaukee man convicted in a 2023 Bayshore Kohl's theft that led to a police chase was sentenced on Thursday, March 14. Robert Hill was sentenced to two years in prison and three years extended supervision.
Court records show Hill pleaded guilty on Thursday, Feb. 22 to fleeing/eluding police, second-degree recklessly endangering safety and resisting/obstructing an officer. Charges of retail theft and hit-and-run involving injury were dismissed as part of the deal.
Hill was one of three people charged in the case. In December, 29-year-old Lilcherry Gallion was sentenced to one year of probation after she pleaded guilty to misdemeanor retail theft. The case against the third person was dismissed in January.
Case details
The theft and pursuit happened Aug. 8, 2023. A criminal complaint states a Kohl's loss prevention associate reported people "filling up carts indiscriminately with merchandise, without looking at sizes nor prices." The SUV the people arrived in was parked outside "waiting," the loss prevention associate said.
Police spotted the people had more than $2,300 worth of merchandise that they didn't pay for, per the complaint. An officer activated his squad lights and drove to the front of the SUV to block it in, but the driver – later identified as Hill – backed up and rammed into two squads. He then took off, and police gave chase.
The complaint said Hill drove recklessly through the Bayshore parking area and later hit an occupied car. The driver of that car suffered neck and shoulder pain and was taken to a hospital with three broken ribs.
The chase continued south onto Port Washington Road. An officer saw Hill driving in the wrong lanes of traffic for roughly a quarter mile, the complaint states. The SUV had four flat tires as it fled, and eventually drove partially off the road into a Hampton Avenue construction site. The chase ended there as Hill got out and ran, but he was arrested a short time later.
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Police said the pursuit stretched 1.71 miles and reached a top speed of around 89 mph.
When police interviewed all three people who were originally charged, the complaint states Gallion admitted to stealing from Kohl's. She said she was going to sell the clothing to pay her rent. The third person said she was doing back-to-school shopping and denied that she was going to steal – planning to pay with Cash App but found out Kohl's did not accept that form of payment. Hill admitted to fleeing police, but said he "did not know what was going on."