ATM Stolen From Miami Beach Restaurant
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MIAMI BEACH (CBSMiami) -- Using brute force, crooks were able to get away with an ATM from inside a restaurant on Miami Beach.
An employee at a nearby bakery first noticed the front window to El Tablazo Restaurant, located at 6780 Collins Avenue, smashed and called police.
Upon arrival, officers and the restaurant owner realized the money machine had been ripped from the floor and stolen.
"In the 21 years that we have this place, this is the first time it's happened," said the owner, Omar Sanchez. "They broke the window and they removed the ATM machine that was fixed to the floor with big screws. And we think it happened very early in the morning."
After the break-in, employees took turns sweeping the shattered glass from the floor and sidewalk.
"We work very hard," said Sanchez. "We work 18 to 20 hours every day for our families. So when this happened, we feel very impotent."
He's also afraid of what this kind of crime looks like to the community.
"Miami Beach, it's a tourist zone," he said. "This is a very bad precedent for tourists. They think there is no security in the city and maybe they won't want to come to Miami Beach when they see these sort of things."
Police are combing through the security cameras to see if the video footage offers any clues. The owner believes the burglary likely happened sometime between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. Saturday.
If anyone has information that can help, call Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS.
