Leader Staff
A long-running investigation into numerous tavern burglaries in the area came to a head Thursday with the execution of a search warrant and the arrest of a Shawano man.
Stephen M. Childs, 30, has been charged with four felony counts of burglary.
A criminal complaint filed Friday indicates Childs was a suspect in additional tavern burglaries that were still being investigated, but Childs has not been charged with those break-ins.
Childs is charged with the burglaries of the Coachlight in Wescott on Nov. 21, the Golf Side Bar in Wescott on June 14, Salty’s Saloon in Richmond on June 17 and Billy’s Bar in Shawano on June 19. He is also charged with four counts of misdemeanor theft.
Childs could face a maximum 12½ years in prison and a $25,000 fine on each felony count if found guilty.
According to the criminal complaint, Shawano County sheriff’s detectives had been investigating a string of tavern burglaries stretching back two years.
The complaint states Childs became a suspect because of past burglary convictions and his familiarity with the taverns that were burglarized.
According to the complaint, all of the burglaries involved prying open a window with a small tool. Safes and ATM machines were also pried open during the crimes, according to the complaint.
A subject matching Childs’ description was also seen in surveillance videos from some of the break-ins, according to the complaint.
Video from another break-in allegedly captured images of a vehicle in which Childs had earlier been a passenger during a traffic stop, according to the criminal complaint.
Authorities also recovered a shoe print from one of the burglaries matching shoes that Childs was wearing during that traffic stop, the complaint alleges. It also alleges Childs had a shoulder bag during the traffic stop that matched one seen in surveillance videos.
On Wednesday, sheriff’s detectives conducted a garbage pick outside Childs’ residence in Shawano, during which they allegedly found numerous items associated with bar activity, such as football pool envelopes and drink tabs.
Sheriff’s detectives, assisted by Shawano police, executed a search warrant the next day during which burglary tools and other items were seized, according to the complaint.
Childs was ordered held on a $20,000 cash bond after an appearance Friday before Shawano-Menominee County Circuit Court Judge William Kussel Jr.
He is scheduled for an adjourned initial appearance on Monday.