PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Palm Beach County detectives believe the same crook burglarized at least 12 businesses in the Boca Raton area since November.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office on Tuesday shared surveillance video which shows a bald man wearing a tan shirt breaking into a restaurant and walking through the kitchen area while carrying a large white safe.
He then uses a knife, spoon and spatula to force the safe open before carrying it out of the restaurant.
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The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said that since November, at least 12 businesses in suburban Boca Raton have been burglarized by what appears to be the same man.
Other surveillance video shows a man smashing through the front door window with a crowbar. It happened at Stallone’s Italian Kitchen in the 900 block of Glades Road Saturday morning.
"Took the cash trays out of the cash drawers. Took about $5 worth of coins and left. We ended finding coins all along the parking lot and the cash drawers on the other side of the wall behind me," said owner Robert Stallone.
Stallone said the suspect didn’t take anything else, but now this family-owned business has to pay for the damage left behind.
"The damage that we have to come out of pocket for is the door. Which is like $500. I mean $500 for $5 worth of coins, like really?" Stallone said.
But their restaurant wasn’t the only one that the suspect targeted. He also went into the restaurants right next to theirs last week, Pho Boca and Bamboo Wok.
"They took cash out of the drawers. Went through the front doors. Broke the window, came out with a crowbar, took everything. One of their POS systems got broken," Stallone said.
Across town over at Village Square Shoppes off Southwest 18th Street, he broke into various business there.
"It’s kind of scary, personally, because we do have products and we do have expensive things in the salon. So, we have to be very careful," said Karina Ahrens with Salon Sima.
Locally owned business have come up with an idea in efforts to curb the burglaries, like leaving the cash register open and empty.
"You can look right through here, the light is right on it and you can see no cash in there. Why break into it?” Stallone said.
Anyone who recognizes the man is asked to call Crime Stoppers of Palm Beach County at 800-458-TIPS.
SMILE YOU’RE ON CANDID CAMERA!
— PBSO (@PBCountySheriff) February 8, 2022
Since the late hours of November 2021, there have been 12 reported cases of business burglaries in unincorporated Boca Raton which appear to have been committed by the same guy.
Take a good look and let us know if he looks familiar. pic.twitter.com/jfV4pzsIJE