Charges Filed against Glendale Man Accused of Burglarizing Apartments He Used to Manage

A 39-year-old Glendale man is facing felony charges after he allegedly broke into apartments in the Shorewood complex where he used to be a building manager.

Gary Kortsch was charged in Milwaukee County Circuit Court Friday with one count of burglary, one count of criminal trespass to a dwelling and one count of criminal damage to property. If convicted, he faces up to 14 years in prison and $45,000 in fines.

According to the criminal complaint:

On Sunday, Shorewood police officers were called to an apartment complex in the 3900 block of North Maryland Avenue after Kortsch allegedly damaged a lock to the boiler room and took 13 sets of apartment keys. The current manager of the building told police Kortsch had entered the building at 11:20 p.m. and began to call her at 11:23 p.m.

At 2:30 a.m. a woman living in the complex heard someone knock on her door then enter moments later. She went to check and found Kortsch standing in her apartment. He told her he was looking for a water leak, then let himself out and locked the door from the outside.

The woman described the encounter as “disturbing.”

Five minutes later, Kortsch entered another apartment and told the woman living there a water leak was in the building and he was checking to see if it was coming from the apartment. He left the apartment and locked it from the outside.

At 2:50 a.m. police found Kortsch walking in the 1700 block of East Capitol Drive carrying a DVD player and laptop computer with its cords dangling behind him. Officers later discovered the items were reported stolen earlier in the evening from a resident in the apartment complex.

Kortsch is currently being held in Milwaukee County Jail while awaiting trial.