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Former sheriff’s deputy charged with burglary

By: Associated Press//December 18, 2019//

Former sheriff’s deputy charged with burglary

By: Associated Press//December 18, 2019//

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JEFFERSON, Wis. (AP) — A former Jefferson County sheriff’s deputy is charged with breaking into the homes of people who were away at family funerals.

According to a criminal complaint, Janelle Gericke, 29, entered the homes of people who were listed in obituaries as the relatives of the deceased when they were attending services. The complaint lists at least a-half dozen incidents in which she tried to enter homes in 2018 and 2019, although Gericke is charged with a single felony count of burglary.

The Journal Sentinel reports that in February 2018, one victim’s doorbell camera caught Gericke entering and leaving a home in Watertown while the owner was at a funeral. It said Gericke left behind a note that read she was picking up “stuff” from a Facebook marketplace transaction but the items weren’t by the door. The complaint says a checkbook was missing from the home.

More than a year later, investigators said they were able to pull a fingerprint from the note that matched Gericke’s.

The sheriff’s office says as soon as Gericke became a suspect in the burglary investigation, it was turned over to the state’s Division of Criminal Investigation. Gericke was fired in July.

Gericke’s attorney did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

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