MILWAUKEE (NewsNation) — A 17-year-old Milwaukee teen facing a felony charge after police said he stole a vehicle belonging to a member of former President Donald Trump’s advance campaign staff before this week’s Republican National Convention began.
The teen has been charged with stealing a Chevy Tahoe belonging to the Trump staffer from in front of the Pfister Hotel. Trump arrived in Milwaukee on Sunday, one day after he was shot during an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
Trump has been staying at the Pfister, a historic hotel in Milwaukee’s Third Ward, which is located well outside of the restricted zone that immediately surrounds Fiserv Forum, where this week’s RNC has been taking place.
Security has remained tight around the hotel, from where Trump has left for evening sessions at the convention as well as at the world premiere of “Trump’s Rescue Mission: Saving America,” which took place on Wednesday at the Miller High Life Theater.
The teen, who is not being named by NewsNation, has been charged with operating a motor vehicle without consent, which is a felony, according to the criminal complaint filed on Wednesday. The teen also faces a misdemeanor charge of criminal damage to property.
Police also allege that the teen broke into a hotel valet lockbox to obtain the keys and then allegedly drove the vehicle through the parking gate that was set up on a nearby street, according to local media reports. The criminal complaint said that a security guard who was working in the area was able to grab the door handle as the car drove by but was unsuccessful in his attempts to open the door, which was locked.
Local police were able to track the vehicle to a local Walmart store and found the teen inside and took him into custody. Keys to the staffer’s vehicle as well as to other vehicles were found in the teen’s possession, the criminal complaint states.
The teen told police he was looking for a place to charge his phone inside the Pfister Hotel and saw a locked cabinet and broke into the box out of curiosity, the complaint states,
The teen is scheduled to appear in court on July 23 and was being held on $2,000 bail at the Milwaukee Jail.
