Booze Bandit Caught On Camera
FT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) - Caught on camera - a thief with a penchant for booze stealing nearly three dozen bottles of liquor from area wholesale clubs.
According to the Broward Sheriff's Office on August 4th, just after noon, the man walked into the alcohol store section of the BJ's Wholesale Club in Parkland, grabbed six bottles of assorted liquors and walked out without paying.
The man, who police say has a muscular build, drove off in a gold, four-door, 2000 Honda Accord.
"He actually grabbed six bottles of liquor and instead of coming to the desk to pay for it, he just walked out the door, that was it," said a clerk who does not want to give his name.
The clerk said when the thief walked into the BJ's where he works in Parkland, he looked like any other shopper.
"It was pretty normal," he said. "I didn't become suspicious until right before he walked out and he actually had six bottles in his hand. Most people have two or three and walk up to the counter, put them down and pay for them."
When the guy walked out the door, the clerk went after him. "I told him, 'what are you doing?' I tried stopping him and just told me he was leaving, he said, "I'm leaving, man." That was it."
Investigators told CBS4 the crook began his three week spree on August 4th at BJ's in Parkland--a few days later, he hit the same store, followed by a Costco in Pompano Beach, a nearby Publix, the same Costco a few days later, then another Costco in Boca an hour after that.
"Right now he's really just walking out of the store with a case," said BSO spokeswoman Gina Carter. "But you can imagine if one of the employees or one of the security staff tried to stop him, it could get physical. We want to stop it before it gets to that point," she said.
It got physical with a clerk from Publix. She told us she went after crook, trying to grab him from the get-a-way car in front of the store. She said she was pushed to the ground. In most cases, investigators say an accomplice whisked him away in a 2000 four-door gold Honda.
The sheriff's office said the suspect also hit wholesale clubs in Boca Raton and Davie.
Anyone with information on the man is urged to call Crime Stoppers at (954) 493-TIPS. Crime Stoppers will pay up to $3,000 for information that leads to an arrest.
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