A burglar was caught red-handed by Madison police Sunday morning, while in a separate incident, three men came away empty-handed after an attempted robbery early Sunday morning.
According to the police report, an employee of Beth Israel Center at 1406 Mound St. was working late when she heard noises coming from the basement. The employee called the police shortly after midnight.
When the officers arrived, they found Dallace Beasley, 44, of Madison, in the basement stuffing his pockets with cash. He was arrested at gunpoint and was also found to be in possession of jewelry that belonged to the Beth Israel Center and a screwdriver that had been used to facilitate the burglary.
Beasley was arrested for burglary, possession of burglarious tools, felony bail jumping and a parole violation.
This was not Beasley’s first arrest for burglary. He has a long list of prior convictions that include burglary, theft, drug possession and battery. He has another open case in which he is being charged for a burglary in October of last year.
Joel DeSpain, spokesperson for the Madison Police Department, said it is often hard to deal with serial burglars. They do not often see large prison sentences because the nature of the crime is not violent.
“Some of the main problems I see on campus are burglaries and thefts,” DeSpain said. “The only question is, how do you deter guys like this from committing these crimes?”
In a separate, unrelated incident, two men on the Capitol Square were both punched in the head Sunday morning after refusing to hand over money during a robbery attempt.
According to the report, three strangers demanded money from two men walking on the 10 block of West Mifflin Street. When the two men refused, the suspects punched them and ran away.
There were no weapons involved in the incident, and there was no need for medical attention.
DeSpain said muggings are infrequent in the downtown area, although they do occur periodically.
“We did have a bunch of downtown robberies a couple of summers ago where intoxicated, young men were targeted,” he said. “It seems to be a crime of opportunity.”
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, who represents the area where the crime took place, said the Capitol Square area is monitored 24-7 by video surveillance.
He added crime — violent crime especially — is extremely infrequent near the Capitol.
DeSpain also mentioned the two men were reluctant to call the police because nothing was taken, and no one was seriously hurt. He said city residents should call the police for any incident because it may help the police fight crime.
“I would encourage anyone who has been victimized to report it,” he said.
The suspects are described as black males, 20 to 25 years of age. The first is approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall, wearing a blue and white flannel shirt, an eyebrow ring and a lip ring. The second is approximately 6 feet 3 inches tall, 190 to 200 pounds, wearing a black hoodie and a baseball cap. The third is 6 feet tall, 190 pounds with a light complexion and a dark hoodie.
