Shawano County authorities have completed their investigation into dozens of burglaries that took place in Wescott earlier this year. The burglaries are believed to be connected to similar crimes in Oconto and Menominee counties.
As many as 30 burglaries were reported in the Wescott area in January and February, mostly to sheds and garages. Break-ins were also reported to trailers, mobile homes and an ice shack.
Authorities got a break in the case when the Menominee County Sheriff’s Department contacted Shawano County with information that two suspects had been taken into custody after a burglary there on Feb. 21.
The department said that “a lot of stolen property” was found as a result of a search warrant, and it was suspected some of the property might have come from the Shawano County break-ins.
Some of the property stolen in Wescott was eventually recovered at a local pawn shop and on the Menominee Indian Reservation, Shawano County Sheriff’s Department Detective Sgt. Gordon Kowaleski said.
“There were three people involved in the actual burglaries,” Kowaleski said. “Another two were involved in getting rid of the property.”
Kowaleski has referred the results of the Shawano County investigation to the FBI, which is heading up the case with Menominee Tribal Police.
Any charges would eventually be filed in federal court.
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