Wausau man accused of armed robbery at east-side home

By Shereen Siewert | Wausau Pilot & Review

A 49-year-old Wausau man with a history of attempted armed robbery is being held on a $100,000 cash bond after allegedly breaking into a neighbor’s home while armed with a knife.

Robert B. Carey was charged April 24 in Marathon County Circuit Court with armed robbery, as a repeat offender. Circuit Judge Mike Moran ordered the cash bond during an initial appearance the same day.

According to a Wausau Daily Herald report Carey in 2014 was arrested after attacking a woman while she walked with her two children on the city’s west side. The woman, who was not acquainted with Carey, said she was pushing her young boys in a stroller when she heard someone approach from behind. Court records show the woman moved to let him pass, but Carey threw her to the ground and pulled a knife. The woman, who told police she feared Carey was planning to sexually assault her, fought back and Carey fled. He was arrested minutes later on South 36th Avenue.

In the 2014 case, Carey told police he had been “having a bad day” and needed cash. Police later found the knife, which he said he had thrown into the woods before he was arrested, according to court documents.

Carey was convicted in 2015 and was sentenced to 10 years in prison followed by seven years of extended supervision. He was granted 277 days credit and was released on extended supervision in February 2022, according to Wisconsin Dept. of Corrections records. An appeal was denied in 2016.

The latest case has striking similarities.

Police in Wausau were called at about 1:20 a.m. April 24 to a home on Park Avenue for a report of a break-in and found Carey inside the apartment, according to court documents. A woman and her toddler son were asleep inside the home when Carey, holding a roughly 12-inch knife, entered through the front door, police said.

The woman told investigators she awoke when she heard the front door open and realized she had not locked it prior to going to bed. She then saw Carey holding the knife at his side, rummaging around her apartment, according to court documents.

According to interviews, Carey allegedly admitted he entered the home intending to rob the woman, who he tried to friend on social media but was blocked. A knife was recovered at the scene.

Carey was on probation stemming from his prior attempted armed robbery conviction at the time of his arrest. He remains jailed on the cash bond with a review hearing set for Friday.

You are advised that a charge is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.