Hartland Storage Unit Theft Results in burglary,Theft Charges
HARTLAND,Wis. – A 32-year-old Milwaukee man, Justin Hefter Wieloch, is facing felony burglary and theft charges after a Hartland man reported a comic book collection valued at over $10,000 stolen from a storage unit.The collection included a rare 1963 X-Men No. 1 issue, valued at $9,000.
According to a criminal complaint filed in Waukesha County Circuit Court, the victim discovered 20 valuable X-Men comics and the first five issues of Firestorm were missing after retrieving his collection from FreeUp Storage on Highway 83. He identified the stolen comics in listings on Facebook and eBay, leading investigators to Wieloch, a former employee of the storage facility.
when confronted by police, Wieloch reportedly stated, ”Burglary? Burglary? I didn’t burglar anything!” and questioned whether a break-in was necessary for the charge, adding, “Like, that unit was open!”
Detectives recovered many of the missing comics at Wieloch’s Milwaukee home, though the X-Men No. 1 issue had already been sold.
FreeUp Storage’s director of operations, Randy Trapanick, released a statement to WISN 12 News, stating Wieloch was terminated immediately upon learning of the accusations over a year ago. “Our team cooperated with local law enforcement.We cannot provide further comment on this ongoing investigation,” Trapanick said.
Due to the high value of the stolen comic books,Wieloch could face more than 20 years in prison if convicted. Mitchell George, of The Turning Page comic book store in Milwaukee, noted the importance of the stolen X-Men issue, stating, “That’s a big one.” He explained the historical importance of the series,noting its early exploration of social issues and the rarity of well-preserved copies from the 1960s and 70s.