Sheriff’s deputy intervened with potential crime spree Saturday

A Crawford County Sheriff’s Department deputy intervened with a potential crime spree Saturday, April 4, in Prairie du Chien. His actions not only solved one burglary but they also resulted in the prevention of others as well as the recovery of a stolen vehicle.

According to the sheriff’s department, at 3:25 a.m. Saturday, Deputy Kyle Mezera was patrolling on South Marquette Road when he observed what he felt was a suspicious vehicle parked next to the main entrance of the China Café Restaurant, located at 1224 South Marquette Rd. Mezera drove around the back side of the restaurant, where he then observed a male subject standing outside of the building.

As Mezera turned around on East Parrish Street, the male subject got into a vehicle and drove south on Marquette Road without turning the headlights on. Mezera initiated a traffic stop on the vehicle and discovered it had been stolen from Arlington, Texas, and the driver Phu H. Pham, 43, of Bloomington, Minn., had a warrant for his arrest out of Minnesota for burglary. Officers went back to the China Café Restaurant and determined that the building had been broken into and cash was taken.

Sheriff’s deputies interviewed Pham and learned he planned to break into other area stores as well as the China Café.

Pham is currently being held in the Crawford County Jail on charges of operating a motor vehicle without the owner’s consent, burglary, theft and criminal damage to property.