Man charged with burglarizing Eau Claire day care

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) - An Eau Claire man is in custody and is accused of burglarizing an Eau Claire day care twice this week.

23-year-old Michael Phillippi was arrested Tuesday afternoon by the Eau Claire Police Department.

Police said Eau Claire Kindercare, which is located on the 2000 block of Fairfax Street, reported burglaries on back-to-back nights this week. Evidence at the day care led to police identifying a suspect, Phillippi, who they found walking on Brackett Avenue just after 12 p.m. Tuesday. Some of the reported missing items were found in a backpack that Phillippi was carrying and more stolen items were recovered after following up in the investigation.

According to online court records, Phillippi is charged with two counts of burglary, one count of theft of movable property valued between $5,000 and $10,000, one count of misdemeanor theft, one count of possession of THC and two counts of felony bail jumping.

Kindercare confirmed the break-ins in a letter sent to families Tuesday evening. In the letter, Kindercare said that it would continue normal operations since the suspect was taken into custody by police. The day care center also said that exterior locks had been changed and the interior was in the process of being professionally cleaned.

In a statement, Kindercare said it was working with police during their investigation of the break-ins:

Phillippi is being held at the Eau Claire County Jail on a $5,000 cash bond with conditions to maintain absolute sobriety and to have no contact with any Wisconsin Kindercare location. Phillippi is scheduled to appear in Eau Claire County Circuit Court on Feb. 8 for a hearing.

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