Menomonee Falls jewelry case smashed, Racine man sentenced
MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis. - A Racine man has been sentenced and fined for smashing a jewelry display case with a brick in Menomonee Falls in 2022.
David Juarez, 34, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor criminal damage to property. He was given five days in jail with work release privileges and fined $243.
According to a criminal complaint, police were called to the Kay Jewelers store on Pershing Avenue in Menomonee Falls in June 2022 for a "criminal damage to property" complaint. The caller indicated the suspect damaged a jewelry case and left the store in a Chevrolet Malibu with no license plates.
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When officers arrived at the scene, the complaint states they saw a jewelry case with a broken glass top and a gray brick inside. No jewelry inside the case appeared to be damaged or taken.
Surveillance video showed the suspect "damaging the glass display case using a brick." The complaint states he "struck the jewelry case approximately nine times before the brick fell into the case." Investigators got a very detailed description of the suspect from the video as well as witnesses.
Menomonee Falls jewelry store incident surveillance
Authorities were later able to independently identify the suspect as Juarez, per the complaint, after digitally enhancing pictures of his tattoos taken during the incident. Additional cameras captured the suspect vehicle within the frame of the alleged crime.
Online court records indicate the complaint for this case was filed on Aug. 22, 2022. On the same date, an arrest warrant was issued for Juarez.
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Juarez arrested after pursuit
A few weeks after the jewelry store incident, court records indicate police stopped Juarez at a Caledonia intersection. Police spotted Juarez speeding with no visible license plates. He told police he did not have his wallet and that his plates were in the back seat.
An officer told Juarez his plates were "not supposed" to be in the back seat. Juarez tried to talk his way out of the situation, claiming he had a "restraining order" against the police department.
Caledonia police bodycam from traffic stop of David Juarez
When an officer asked Juarez what that had to do with his plates, Juarez said he was afraid of police. The officer asked Juarez for his name, and Juarez got irritated. After collecting some information, prosecutors say the officer realized Juarez had an active warrant out for his arrest – but Juarez took off.
Law enforcement called off a chase because the speeds got too high. Racine police eventually took Juarez into custody at his listed home address. Before taking him to the county jail, though, Juarez allegedly tried to jump out of his window twice in another effort to gey away.