Saturday, September 14, 2024
Shortly before 5 p.m. on April 25, Detective Sgt. Brian Hoelzel with the Waupaca Police Department was dispatched to the 200 block of Jefferson Street. There he met with an AT&T employee who reported seeing a man in a red sweatshirt with a hood pulled over his head apparently trying to gain entry to the Family Barber Shop through the back door with a screwdriver.
Hoelzel searched the area and saw a man in a red hooded sweatshirt walking east on Union Street. He approached the man and recognized him as Ratajczak, who had an active warrant for his arrest.
According to the criminal complaint, Ratajczak handed Hoelzel a 9-inch screwdriver.
Earlier that same day, Waupaca Police Officer Sherry Weise met with the owner of W.J. Doran Co. Hardware. He reported that someone had made forced entry into his store by smashing out a side window. An estimated $15 in coins had been taken from the cash register and someone had tried to pry open the roll-top desk. The cost to repair the damage was estimated at $500.
When questioned by police, Ratajczak reportedly said he used the money he took from the cash register to buy a bottle of vodka.
