This post originally appeared at https://www.wisconsinrightnow.com/river-hills-police-milwaukee-da/

“A subject was in the stolen vehicle, surrounded by stolen items, with stolen property in his pocket and not even a Possession of Stolen Property charge” – River Hills police

River Hills police say the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office wouldn’t charge a chief thief they caught red-handed sleeping in the stolen vehicle with the keys in his pocket.

Their statement comes on the heels of our reporting, starting in 2021, that Milwaukee County DA John Chisholm’s office does not charge about a large percentage of felonies (and a larger percentage of misdemeanors). Today, we reported on the findings of a new Wisconsin Policy Forum report that reveals Chisholm’s charging rate was even worse in 2022.

River Hills police cited that report, commissioned in part by the Argosy Foundation, in their statement. “A recent study from Wisconsin Policy Forum showed that only 39.7% of cases referred to the Milwaukee County DA’s Office in 2022 were actually charged,” they wrote.

In the recent car theft case, River Hills police wrote that, during the afternoon of July 22nd, “a resident’s home was burglarized. During the burglary numerous items were stolen and a vehicle was stolen out of the garage.”

Early the next morning, “roughly 14 hours later, we were able to find the vehicle in Milwaukee. The vehicle was parked and in the driver’s seat there was a subject sleeping. In his pocket were the vehicle’s keys and a card belonging to the homeowner,” police wrote. “Throughout the car were numerous items taken from the car. And also in the vehicle were documents that were stolen in a previous burglary in Racine County.”

The case was presented to the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office, according to police, “and they refused to go forward with any charges. No charges of Burglary, Theft of Movable Property, Operating a Vehicle W/O Owner’s Consent, or even Possession of Stolen Property. A subject was in the stolen vehicle, surrounded by stolen items, with stolen property in his pocket and not even a Possession of Stolen Property charge.”

We would note that the Milwaukee DA is refusing to release the names of people he doesn’t charge, denying our open records request for them in 2021. AG Josh Kaul’s office refused to rule on our open records complaint against Chisholm.

We have contacted the River Hills police chief for an interview and to get the name of the suspect. We have also contacted the Milwaukee County DA’s office for comment.