Falls Car Thief Caught Red-handed

A 32-year-old Menomonee Falls man is facing charges after he was caught trying to break into a car on Milwaukee’s east side.

James Pericone Pfalz was charged in Milwaukee County Circuit Court Tuesday with one count of criminal damage to property and one count of resisting an officer. If convicted, he faces up to 18 months in prison and $20,000 in fines.

According to the criminal complaint:

At 6:45 a.m. April 3, a woman was inside her kitchen on the 2000 block of North Cambridge Avenue when she heard a loud smash outside and went to see what was going on and found Pfalz trying to pry a door open on her neighbor’s car, which also had a wing window smashed out. When she asked Pfalkz what he was doing, he shrugged his shoulders and ran off.

The woman called police and immediately identified Pfalz from an array of photos they had.

Officers found Pfalz near Cambridge and East Irving Place with dried blood on his jacket and hands. He told officers he was injured after falling down stairs, and then he ran away. Officers chased him and eventually found him hiding in a yard in the 1800 block of North Warren Avenue.

He will make his initial appearance in court Thursday.