The last thing a man staying at a prominent downtown Milwaukee hotel during the heart of the pandemic must have expected was to fall prey to a woman orchestrating a string of thefts.

He was staying at the Pfister Hotel. On a Saturday night, he and some friends went drinking on Brady Street. They met a woman who promised to take them to an after-hours party. The party never materialized. The next morning, he tried to meet the woman again, but she sent a friend. He invited her up to his room. They watched some television and then she left to get some alcohol. She never came back.

As he looked around his room, he realized he was missing a Rolex watch, three gold chains, two diamond cut bracelets and his wallet with multiple credit, debit and identification cards. He told police he guessed the total loss at $35,000.

His story was part of a 20-count criminal complaint against Deloise Renee Lipsey, 35, who pleaded guilty Thursday in Milwaukee County Circuit Court to orchestrating a series of thefts from strangers and laundering the proceeds.

According to the complaint, Lipsey and female co-conspirators targeted and isolated victims — mostly men who where either drinking or badly intoxicated at a bar as it approached closing time. They offered to help with a ride home or to a hotel, and then stole money, cellphones, jewelry, and credit and debit cards. They pawned the jewelry, used the phones to get into Venmo, Cashapp and bank accounts, and purchased goods with the stolen cards.

Many of the victims were so drunk they could not recall specifics about the woman or where they went. One woke up in the back of a car, unsure who was driving, where they were going or why he was there.

The incidents stretched from December 2019 to December 2020.

More: Milwaukee man given nearly 20 years in federal prison for carjacking and shooting victim at his residence

Lipsey pleaded guilty to three felony charges of money laundering, attempted robbery with use of force and the organization of financial crimes. She could face up to 28½ years in prison.

The other 17 counts were dismissed but could be included in the judge's consideration at her sentencing.

The complaint describes at least one other female conspirator, who is not identified and does not appear to have been charged.

When she began the string of thefts, Lipsey had been recently put on probation for theft from a person in October 2019. She is now serving out the three-year sentence on the 2019 case.

The complaint included testimony from eight victims, some of whom may appear at Lipsey's sentencing in August. Police obtained evidence through Lipsey's iCloud account, including time-stamped photos, financial transactions and text messages between conspirators that tied her to each victim's story.

In the last incident, in December 2020, Lipsey grabbed a victim's phone while driving them home and attempted to Venmo money to her own account. The victim wrestled her phone back and jumped out of the moving vehicle. Lipsey was later identified through video surveillance at Jack's American Pub, where the woman had been drinking.

Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 22.

Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.

DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee woman guilty in string of thefts of drunken bar patrons

The Ukrainian government says Russians are looking for industrial refrigerators to store bodies after a meatpacking plant-turned-morgue in Melitopol was 'completely filled' with bodies of dead soldiers.

She thinks his request is completely bizarre.

After moving to Mumbai six years ago and giving birth for the first time, a new mom learned how India supports postpartum women.

The bodily waste of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is collected by a member of his security detail whenever he goes abroad, French news outlet Paris Match reported on June 9.

A lawyer for Spears' former husband Kevin Federline told People that his children with Spears were "happy" and "hopeful" for their mom.

Ningbo University in Zhejiang Province of eastern China terminated a male staff member after it was discovered that he had posted sexist comments on social media. The university released a statement on Tuesday on Weibo that the employee, surnamed Li, was fired on Monday following the discovery of his social media comments towards women. Using the Chinese social media platform WeChat Moments, Li reportedly wrote about how women “tend to make trouble” by using childbirth and family care as an excuse to avoid work.

After some pointed out McConaughey uses guns in films, Carter tweeted: 'I flew an invisible plane ... do people really not understand reality vs. fiction?'

Ann Hood says TWA once taught flight attendants techniques to brush off advances — while encouraging them to perch on first-class passengers' seats.

A Wisconsin Spanish teacher is facing up to 18 years behind bars for allegedly sexually assaulting one of her 17-year-old student. Rebecca Kilps, 34, was arrested in May and charged with three counts of sexual assault of a student by school staff, according to a press release from the Two Rivers Police Department. Kilps had a court appearance on Monday, during which she waived the time requirement for a preliminary hearing, according to WBAY. That hearing is scheduled for July 22, at which time

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz maintains that he would rather be bored silly than subject himself to watching any upcoming January 6 committee hearings.

Trump's former education secretary confirmed that she spoke with Pence and Cabinet officials after the Capitol riot about invoking the 25th Amendment.

The housing sector is in the midst of the biggest slowdown in over a decade, one economist says. But don't expect prices to fall yet either.

Since the first Jurassic Park movie in 1993, paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant has been winning over audiences with his deep knowledge of dinosaurs. Over the years since he first started playing the role, Sam Neill has seemingly developed a similar affection for the creatures that are, thankfully, still extinct in our world.

In the interview, Vasquez said that she is "very happy in my relationship" and reiterated that it's "unethical for us to date our clients."

Over the past two years, people have gone from clapping us on Thursday nights to threatening physical violence. “You’re useless,” they yell. “Why is there always a queue? Where are my tablets? You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

TikTokers can't believe this dad's incredible reaction time.

"Both traded short-term publicity and attention for long-term reputation damage," Evan Nierman writes

Machine Gun Kelly walked the "Taurus" carpet alone but Megan Fox wasn't far in tow sporting a blood-red dress to match his blood earring.

Jamie Chung and her husband, actor Bryan Greenberg, surprised fans last October when they announced the birth of their twin boys.

The Ukraine war has increased the overall demand for glass products in Germany, while rising energy costs have also played a role in the shortage.