Brookfield armed robbery; 2 accused of robbing man of credit cards, phone
BROOKFIELD, Wis. - A man and woman are accused of robbing a man of his credit cards, ID and cellphone near Brookfield Square.
The accused are 30-year-old Darris Nash of South Milwaukee and 38-year-old Emily Bonczyk of Brookfield. They are each charged with armed robbery.
According to a criminal complaint, Brookfield police were called to a hotel on Saturday night, Dec. 9 for a reported armed robbery. An officer met with the victim who said he had been robbed by a man and woman on the west side of the Brookfield Square mall complex.
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The complaint said the victim indicated he was talking with an unknown white woman on the Telegram Messenger app – and got into her SUV near the Firestone store. They started to drive on Executive Drive, the victim said, when a man "emerged from the back seat of the vehicle." He said the man held a knife to his neck and demanded items from him.
The victim said the woman said, "Everything you got, give it to us," per the complaint. The victim then handed over his debit card, credit card, hotel room key, state ID and cellphone. After handing over the items, the victim got out of the SUV and ran away. The vehicle drove off.
Firestone in Brookfield
When speaking with police, the victim used his "Find my iPhone" app to see that his phone was tracking to multiple locations around the city of Milwaukee. The complaint said one of those was near a gas station in the area of North and MLK. There, officers spotted a white woman sitting in the passenger seat and a Black man pumping gas. After checking the registration on the SUV, officers found it was registered to Nash. Nash's DOT photo matched the person who was pumping gas at the location. The man got back in the SUV and drove away.
Early on Sunday, Dec. 10, the complaint states an officer responded to a West Allis Taco Bell to recover the vehicle suspected of being involved in the armed robbery. Police found it and took the people in the SUV – Nash and Bonczyk – into custody. At that time, Bonczyk told police "she smoked crack earlier but was not feeling the effects," the complaint states.
Darris Nash, Emily Bonczyk
When questioned by police, the complaint states Bonczyk spoke without prompting about the Dec. 9 incident. She said she met a younger man in Brookfield who "began touching her without consent," per the complaint. Bonczyk indicated Nash held his arms around the victim to make him stop touching her. When asked if there were any weapons in the vehicle, Bonczyk said she kept a black folding knife on her person. She claimed "Nash was just protecting her."
When searching the SUV involved in this incident, police recovered a jean jacket that Bonczyk was thought to have been wearing during the robbery. Officers recovered the victim's debit card, credit card and Wisconsin ID. A "large knife" was found wedged between the front passenger seat and center console, the complaint states.
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Bonczyk made her initial appearance in Waukesha County court on Monday, Dec. 11. Cash bond was set at $25,000. Nash made his initial appearance on Wednesday, Dec. 13. Cash bond was set at $1,000 – but a signature bond of $40,000 was also put into place.
FOX6 News went to Nash's home Thursday, but there was no answer.