An Indianapolis man who stole nearly $29,000 worth of diamond rings from three Milwaukee-area jewelry stores over a three-month span in 2019 has been sentenced to just one year of probation, despite pleading guilty to two theft felonies and a felon-in-possession-of-a-firearm charge. Timothy Dodd was arrested in Milwaukee on July 2, 2019, a day after the third theft, when police found a pistol in his shorts near 6th Street and Garfield Avenue and he fled from approaching officers.
According to FOX6 News Milwaukee, which cited information from the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office and Wisconsin Circuit Court, Dodd's spree began on May 18, 2019, when he took a Leo diamond ring valued at nearly $6,000 from Kay Jewelers at Bayshore Town Center in Glendale, per the criminal complaint. He later admitted to taking that ring and gambling it away in a dice game, the complaint states.
Less than three weeks later, on June 5, 2019, Dodd struck again at Rogers & Hollands inside Mayfair Mall in Wauwatosa, taking a 1.25-carat diamond ring valued at more than $7,000, according to the same criminal complaint. That ring, per the complaint, was later taken from Dodd himself in a robbery. Court records indicate Dodd had planned to give the ring to his girlfriend.
A Third Theft, Then an Arrest With a Gun
On July 1, 2019, Dodd took a 1.95-carat diamond ring valued at more than $16,000 from Zales, also located at Mayfair Mall, per the criminal complaint. He reportedly planned to give that ring to his girlfriend as well. Police arrested him in Milwaukee the following day and recovered the Zales ring on his person.
During that arrest, officers found a pistol in Dodd's shorts, and he told them he carried it “for protection,” according to the complaint. State of Indiana records showed Dodd was a convicted felon for a 2015 robbery, making him a prohibited possessor under Wisconsin law. Under Wisconsin case law, an out-of-state felony conviction qualifies as prohibited-possessor status based on the underlying conduct of the prior offense rather than how the original statute was worded, according to the Wisconsin Legislature.
Felony Exposure Versus the Final Sentence
The stakes on paper were steep. Under Wisconsin Statute § 941.29, possessing a firearm as a convicted felon is a Class G felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison — split between initial confinement and extended supervision — plus fines up to $25,000, according to the Van Severen Law Office. Separately, under Wisconsin Statute § 943.20(3), theft between $5,000 and $10,000 is a Class H felony carrying up to six years, while theft between $10,000 and $100,000 is a Class G felony carrying up to 10 years, per the Wisconsin Legislature.
Dodd ultimately pleaded guilty to two theft felonies and the gun possession felony; a third theft felony was dismissed as part of a plea negotiation. A Milwaukee County judge originally sentenced Dodd to two years in prison plus two years of extended supervision, then stayed that four-year sentence in favor of one year of probation. Under Wisconsin Statute § 973.09, a court can impose a prison term but stay its execution for probation — meaning the full term takes effect automatically if probation is revoked, the Van Severen Law Office notes.
A Pattern With a National Price Tag
Dodd's method — asking to see or compare high-value rings before fleeing — fits a category retail security analysts call “grab and run” theft. Such incidents averaged loss values of $21,448 per incident in 2025, according to the Jewelers' Security Alliance, as reported by National Jeweler. Nationwide, crimes against jewelry businesses caused $144.7 million in total losses across 1,233 reported incidents in 2025, even as overall incident counts fell 13% compared to 2024, the outlet reported.
Both malls where Dodd operated have since tightened security. Mayfair Mall bans weapons outright and, per CBS 58, began using weapon-detecting canine patrols in December 2020. Bayshore Town Center in Glendale, where the first theft occurred, instituted a Parental Guidance Required policy in November 2024 requiring visitors under 18 to be accompanied by an adult on weekend afternoons, following repeated security incidents there.
Not the First Lenient Outcome at Mayfair
Dodd's probation sentence echoes another recent Milwaukee County case tied to Mayfair Mall. In a March case at the mall's Sephora store, two women convicted of retail theft and battery to an officer — following a physical struggle during their arrests — also received probation rather than prison time. Taken together, the outcomes point to a pattern in how Milwaukee County courts have handled high-value retail theft cases even when firearms or physical confrontations with officers are involved.
It remains unclear whether Dodd made any financial restitution for the stolen rings that were never recovered, including the Kay Jewelers ring he admitted losing in a dice game, or what specific conditions were attached to his year of probation. Those details were not included in the court and prosecutor information reviewed by FOX6 News Milwaukee.
