HOUSTON — A break-in at a local bar was caught on camera. The thieves, who were spotted in a slow crawl inside the bar, ended up getting away with thousands of dollars.
For the owners of the Wakefield Crowbar bar in the Garden Oaks area, it's another hit. They're still making repairs from the derecho in May and Hurricane Beryl in July.
Thieves broke in with a crowbar at around 5:30 a.m.
"It looks like they've done this before," said Miguel Cruz, co-owner of the bar.
Cruz said the thieves arrived Thursday morning in a silver Mercedes with a paper license plate. They jumped the fence and broke in through the side door, but it's what surveillance cameras caught next that makes this crime so unusual.
"They low-crawled like they knew that the alarm was going to be on and they didn't look around," Cruz said. "They went directly into the the office area where normally my safe is."
These crawling bandits laid low and took their time heading for the bar's office. What they didn't realize is that their Mission Impossible caper was on full display on camera.
Then they reached their target.
"They actually used either torch or grind, and they cut a square into the safe," Cruz said.
Within minutes, the thieves were gone with two safes. The owners said they got away with $4,000.
"When it rains, it pours, they say, right?" said Cruz. "It's worse timing for us."
It's a big hit for the small business still recovering from back-to-back storms.
"We're going to try to bounce back as best if we can," Cruz said.
Houston police say they have investigators on the case, but if you have any information, you're told to contact police or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.