South Bassett Street: Burglary

Two Madison-area teenagers were arrested Thursday night after attempting to break into a house on the 10 block of South Bassett Street.

The incident took place around 11 p.m. Thursday when a 21-year-old man, one of the home’s six residents, heard noises in his home and went to investigate, according to a Madison Police Department statement.

He walked in on the two suspects, who ran from the house when they saw him, the statement said. The man and one of his housemates then went outside and saw the two suspects leaving the area with other associates.

Nothing was taken from the home, MPD spokesperson Joel Despain said.

MPD responded and arrested two suspects from the group, identifying one of them, a sixteen-year-old boy, as one of the individuals who entered the house, the statement said. The teen was wearing a bail-monitoring device on his ankle and was wanted in connection to other crimes, including a different burglary.

The teen gave a fake name to MPD, but was eventually correctly identified and was arrested for criminal trespass to a dwelling and for resisting or obstructing due to the fake name, according to the statement.

The other suspect, an 18-year-old woman, was one of the people who ran from the house’s backyard with the two suspects who entered the home, the statement said. She was cited for unlawful trespass.

MPD found a backpack containing a laptop with the suspects. It is not known if the laptop belongs to one of the suspects, or was taken during a previous incident.

The suspects entered the house through an unlocked door. Approximately twelve burglaries have occurred since the beginning of the year in the neighborhoods around Capitol Square and Park Street, most of which are due to unlocked doors, the statement said.

DeSpain emphasized the importance of locking doors and not leaving electronics and other valuables in plain view at home.

“We’ve seen a series of burglaries with a commonality of people entering through unlocked doors and targeting laptop computers,” Despain said. “We often see that off-campus housing can be the target for opportunistic burglars. We keep telling people to lock doors – that’s how burglars get in.”

Mifflin Street and Doty Street: Burglary

Two Madison men robbed a house on the 500 block of West Mifflin Street shortly before midnight Friday night.

Police arrested the two suspects, Kameron Powers, 18, and Andre Hollingsworth, 23, near the Mifflin Street home after its residents interrupted the burglary in progress and the two suspects fled, according to the MPD report.

Officers were able to retrieve some of the stolen items from the men. One of the suspects told MPD the two men were also responsible for a burglary that happened earlier on the 500 block of West Doty Street, according to the statement.

Powers was charged with two counts of burglary and bail jumping and Hollingsworth was charged with two counts of burglary and resisting.