Tech Savvy Victim Nabs Alleged Greendale Burglar

A 23-year-old Greendale man is facing charges after he burglarized the home of a tech savvy Greendale man who was able to find his stolen computer with his iPhone.

Calvin R. Kattner was charged in Milwaukee County Circuit Court Tuesday with one count of burglary. If convicted, he faces up to 12 ½ years in prison and $25,000 in fines.

According to the criminal complaint:

On June 30, the victim and his wife were in northern Wisconsin when he decided to check his home computer with his iPhone. The computer was off line and the phone was unable to connect, which the man found odd because he could connect with it earlier in the day.

The next morning, the man again tried to connect with the computer with his phone but was unable. The couple went home later that day to their house in the 5800 block of Euston Street and discovered someone had broken in and stole the computer, jewelry and a signed Pittsburgh Pirates baseball.

On July 19, the victim contacted the after he was able to connect with his computer with the phone and gave officers an IP address of where the computer was being used. Investigators traced the address back to a residence in the 3800 block of South 87th Street, where they then entered the home via a search warrant.

A man living in the home told officers he recently bought the computer from Kattner for $115 or $125, but didn’t know it was stolen. Officers then looked into the stolen jewelry and discovered it had been pawned in Milwaukee by Kattner.

On Aug. 6, the man who had the stolen computer contacted police officers after he had Kattner come to the house and recorded a conversation where he admitted to stealing the items with his brother and apologized for not telling the man the computer was stolen when he sold it to him. Kattner also told the man he planned to sell the baseball on an Online auction site so it didn’t draw attention to himself.

Officers saw Kattner and another person loading items into a vehicle outside his apartment Saturday and pulled them over shortly afterwards and had the vehicle towed because neither had a valid driver’s license. They then searched the vehicle and found a receipt inside for MEARS regarding the sale of the stolen baseball.

Kattner has been turned over to the JUSTICE 2000 program while awaiting trial.