Racine Police Thwart Christmas Eve Burglary; Two Charged in North Side Neighborhood Crime

RACINE -- The North Side of Racine has seen its share of burglaries and home invasions in 2016, but police got their men after two suspects attempted to stage a Christmas Eve burglary.

A resident on Racine's North Side called police just before 2 a.m. on Christmas Eve after she came home to find at least one suspicious person inside. Her home was located in a neighborhood near Shoreland and Third.

According to their criminal complaint, she returned home just before 2 a.m., only to find someone suspicious pushing the front door back against her. The suspects fled, and she called police.

According to the complaint, police investigated the crime scene at the home and found that entry was made by breaking out a door window in the back of the house. The two suspects, police believe, then had time to go through several rooms of the home, collecting three laptops, a gift card, an Ipod, and a large amount of miscellaneous jewelry.

According to a criminal complaint filed this week, police believe those two men turned out to be Joseph Melnik, 30, Racine, and Edward Rodriguez, 36, of Mount Pleasant. They were arrested a short time after the reported burglary and were also issued drug charges. They could face up to seven-and-a-half years behind bars if they are convicted.

Police say they located and detained Rodriguez at the southeast corner of South and Caledonia. Officers also took Melnik into custody after finding him on Douglas Ave just south of Shoreland Dr.

Both suspects, according to the complaint, were found to have items that matched the description of the items missing from the resident's home. In addition, investigating officers determined that a clean footprint found on the window of the home matched that of one of the suspect's footwear perfectly.

Police also found that Rodriguez had a crack pipe in his possession at the time of his detention. In addition, Police also found Melnik had 0.9 grams of marijuana on him when he was stopped by police.

>>> image via shutterstock