SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – Seminole County deputies just released new video of a burglar who has been on the run for weeks after breaking into several restaurants in hopes that someone will recognize him.
Restaurant owners are worried because they don't know who will get hit next, but the man appears careless in some cases, where he has left behind fingerprints and blood at the crime scenes.
In the majority of cases, he was the only one spotted on security cameras, but in one case he had a "lookout" helping him. However, in case after case, the burglar's actions are the same: He walks up to the restaurant front door, smashes the lower window with a brick or cement block, then crawls his way inside and steals the entire register.
Adam Williams, owner of Graffiti Junktion in Oviedo, gets angry every time he watches it happen on his security video.
"It's frustrating and you wish this doesn't happen, but at the end of the day nobody else was hurt," said Williams.
But the burglar hurt himself when he broke into Graffiti Junktion. In the security video, he is seen punching away shattered glass and crawling on his palms in an effort to avoid motion sensors. When deputies arrived, they found drops of blood all over and that's not the only evidence he's left behind.
At Flippers Pizza off Red Bug Lake Road, deputies think he poured himself a beer, and left the mug on the counter.
Plus, he may have a telling feature. He appears to walk with a limp.
There have been six cases so far, but deputies believe he's tried to hit other restaurants and failed.
In one case, security cameras caught him attempting to break the glass, and failing. When he couldn't break the glass, he then went right next door to Graffiti Junktion.
"It seems as if he's very careless in how he's doing this," said Williams. "I think with the evidence the police have and how he's going about this, he will get caught very soon."
At Dickey's Barbeque Pit off State Road 426, the owners have changed up their security. They're no longer leaving cash in the register over night and they're leaving lights on, as well as other measures to ensure he doesn't come back.
Other targeted restaurants include:
- Dickey's BBQ Pizza at 5414 Deep Lake Rd, Oviedo
- Johnny's Diner at 2960 W SR 426, Oviedo
- Beef O'Brady's at 2960 West State Road 426, Oviedo
- Flipper's Pizzeria at 5256 Red Bug Lake Road, Winter Springs
- Torino's Pizza at 2871 Clayton Crossings Way, Oviedo
- Graffiti Junktion at 3100 Alafaya Trail, Oviedo