Shopping at the Mall Really Shoplifting, Police Say

A shopping trip to Regency Mall was apparently more for shoplifting, and now a Kenosha man faces felony charges, according to a criminal complaint.

Daniel Fisher, 28, of Kenosha, was charged Thursday in Racine County Circuit Court with two counts of felony bail jumping and two counts of misdemeanor retail theft. If convicted of these changes, he could spend 13-1/2 years in jail and have to pay up to $40,000 in fines. Because he is considered a repeat offender, more jail time could get tacked onto any sentence he might receive.

According to the criminal complaint, on Aug. 11 Mount Pleasant Police pulled a car over for speeding on Highway 31 near South Street. The driver was uncooperative and officers could smell marijuana so they asked her and her three male passengers to step out of the car.

A search of the vehicle turned up two touch-screen tablets and a new pair of Nike gym shoes. Reports indicate that the occupants of the vehicle all told officers different stories about how they obtained the merchandise until one of them gave up Fisher as the culprit.

Police say that Fisher was the passenger riding in the front and he told officers, "I took the items. Nobody else was involved." 

The defendant also reportedly said he would tell police everything and asked them to work with him.

All merchandise was returned to the stores from where they were allegedly taken.

When police ran his information, they discovered that Fisher was out on a $2,500 signature bond from July 30, 2012 in Kenosha where he faces three felony charges of misappropriation of ID in order to obtain money and one misdemeanor charge of theft by false representation.

Fisher is out on a $3,000 cash bond and will next appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Jan. 17 before Court Commissioner Alice A. Rudebusch.