Racine police say a 26-year-old woman helped steal a variety of electronics, guns and jewelry from a home and is now facing a felony charge.
Melissa Woten was charged Wednesday in Racine County Circuit Court with a single felony charge of a building or dwelling. If convicted she faces up to 12-1/2 years in jail and/or up to $25,000 in fines.
According to the criminal complaint, a resident on McKinley Avenue called police at 2:36 p.m. July 15 to report a burglary. The man said someone broke into his home between noon and 1:45 p.m. and took a number of items:
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- Loose coins
- Two loose diamonds
- A black diamond ring
- Pearl earrings
- Miscellaneous hunting knives
- A Remington shotgun
- A High Point revolver
- An 8-inch tablet
- A 15-inch laptop
- A PlayStation 3
- An 8-inch Kindle Fire, and
- Various prescription pills
Police say witnesses told them they observed a man carrying items to a blue SUV, and a woman with black hair was seated in the truck. Woten was identified by fingerprints discovered at the scene.
Charges were originally filed against Woten in December, but a warrant was issued for her arrest when she didn’t appear. On Jan. 14 Woten was in court and assigned a $1,000 signature bond, and her initial appearance was scheduled for Wednesday.
During her court appearance Wednesday, Woten’s bond was modified to include no violent contact with one of the alleged victims and no contact with a second alleged victim in the case.
Woten will next be in court Feb. 4 for her preliminary hearing.