Police: Man Steals $1,100 in Alcohol, Possibly for Drug Habit

Mount Pleasant police say a 47-year-old Oak Creek man tried to get away with over $1,100 in alcohol and other items, possibly to support a drug habit.

Joel Wiedenhoeft was charged Monday in Racine County Circuit Court with one felony count of retail theft, repeater, and one misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphrenalia, repeater. If convicted, he faces up to three years, seven months in jail and/or up to $10,500 in fines.

According to the criminal complaint, Mount Pleasant police were dispatched Sunday to Piggly Wiggly on Washington Avenue for a report of shoplifting. While officers were on route, dispatch informed them the individual in question - later identified as Wiedenhoeft - was also suspected of stealing from the Piggly Wiggly in Muskego.

When MPPD arrived at Piggly Wiggly, they say witnesses reported that store employees saw Wiedenhoeft fill a cart with bottles of liquor and some other items and walk out of the store. Employees chased the defendant in the parking lot and were able to detain him for police.

Store management told police Wiedenhoeft is suspected of visiting the store the previous week and making off with an undisclosed amount of merchandise.

Piggly Wiggly owner Ralph Malicki said incidents like this happen more often than people might think.

"We come across these kinds of guys probably every couple months," he told Patch. "I watch the retail theft notices from other retailers and some type of 'pro' theft or fraud is going on in the area almost continuously."

When officers took the defendant into custody, they performed a routine search and found a glass pipe with burnt ends, consistent with smoking crack cocaine and other illegal drugs, the complaint reads.

The total value of the items in the cart came to $1,129.30.

Court records indicate Wiedenhoeft remains in the Racine County Jail on a $1,000 cash bond. His preliminary hearing is May 23.