MIAMI – Two bold burglars were caught on surveillance video using a sledgehammer to smash their way through the impact-resistant glass doors of a Miami liquor store.
The smash-and-grab burglary occurred about 3 a.m. Tuesday at Jensen's Liquors on Northwest 27th Avenue in Miami's Coral Way neighborhood.
Surveillance video shows the two men wearing hooded sweatshirts and coverings to hide their faces.
The video shows one of the men spending about five minutes using a sledgehammer to break the impact-resistant glass.
“It’s incredible how they got in,” the liquor store owner, Eddie Cruz, said.
Once inside, the crooks jump over the counter and grab large bottles of booze from the shelf. At least one bottle was worth $999.99.
“High-end stuff, that’s all they took -- high-end -- the Hennessy Paradis, the Hennessy Rely, the expensive rums, the high-end rums that I have behind the counter and the expensive champagnes,” Cruz said. “They took easily about $7,000 or $8,000 in liquor alone.”
In all, more than 30 bottles of booze were stolen, with the burglars eventually leaving in a black pickup truck.
Cruz said the thieves’ rush may have worked in the favor of detectives who dusted for fingerprints and even got a blood sample left behind by one of the burglars.
“I hope they catch them or somebody else is next,” Cruz said.
Anyone with information about the burglary is asked to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.