3 Charged In Brutal Wauwatosa Home Invasion: Report

WAUWATOSA, WI — Three people have been arrested and charged in connection with a brutal home invasion in which police say the suspects held a family hostage at gunpoint.

Antwuan Hardy, 36, Brandon Lane, 34, and 36-year-old Nicole Kauper have all been arrested and face multiple charges in court.

Hardy and Lane face four counts of armed robbery, four counts of first-degree reckless injury, second-degree recklessly endangering safety, burglary and five counts of false imprisonment. Kauper faces conspiracy to commit a burglary and harboring a felon.

According to Wauwatosa Police, police the incident began at 8:30 p.m. July 12 when officers reported that two suspects broke into a duplex on the 1200 block of North 116th Street. According to a report published by the Journal Sentinel, two suspects armed with handguns attempted to stage a robbery during the evening of July 12.

Police said that a family of five was held hostage - four adults and a five-year-old child. Reports stated that the mother of the child and the child were transported to the hospital with head injuries following the home invasion. According to a WISN report, all five people were beaten during the course of the home invasion.

By 12:30 a.m., a person inside managed to call the police. By the time police arrived, the attackers had already left.

According to the criminal complaint, Kauper learned that the family had just moved into Wauwatosa from outside the U.S., had been staying temporarily at a hotel, and had been "traveling with a large amount of currency and requested a room with a safe."

According to the complaint, Kauper told Hardy about she learned, and planned a burglary at their home.

According to police, Hardy and Lane forced their way into the family's home. One pointed a rifle at a victim who answered the door. The other pointed a handgun at him.

Over the next several hours, the family was held hostage. Hardy and Lane initially demanded all the money that they heard about, but when one of the victims produced the money, it fell far short of their expectations, according to the complaint.

The criminal complaint states that Hardy and Lane acted aggressively toward the family, striking a woman and child several times.

“There’s no way to sugar coat the violent and brutal nature of the crime. The actions of the suspects in this case were nothing short of awful,” said Wauwatosa Police Capt. Brian Zalewski in a statement. “They showed utter disregard for human life. The fact that they violently assaulted, gagged, bound and threatened to kill victims speaks to the disgusting nature of this crime and the character of the suspects.”

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