MIAMI (WSVN) - Miami Police are on the lookout for a man who was seen on surveillance video getting a five finger discount on a bottle of wine and heading out the door.
Investigators said the booze bandit struck Vintage Liquor located in Miami’s Brickell section on May 15.
Video shows the unsuspecting “customer,” walking into the liquor store and befriending employees.
Employee Anthony Barrios detailed the man’s interaction to 7News.
“First thing he does, he walks in, goes straight for the register,” said Barrios. “‘I need a nice white wine, can you help for recommendation?'”
The employees at the high-end Brickell store were happy to oblige.
“So he’s got his vest on. He’s having a normal conversation with the employees,” said Barrios.
Barrios said employees of his family business did what they normally do: they walked the man over to the wine section.
After grabbing a chardonnay and browsing a bit in the store, he leaves a bottle at the counter.
“Drops off the bottle, and that’s where he says, ‘Oh, I need a tequila also,'” said Barrios.
Then the suspect goes full crook, according to store employees.
“And then he just grabs the bottle and sprints,” said Barrios.
The suspect clutched bottles of booze, booked it, and kicked off a foot pursuit with employees behind him.
“He just runs,” said Barrios.
The man grabbed his $30 wine bottle inches from the Vintage Liquor’s holy grail. It’s a cellar where bottles that cost as much as $75,000 are kept.
Store employees are happy he completely ignored that section.
Since last Friday’s heist, the man hasn’t been seen since.
His thievery is reminiscent of a man back in 2023.
“Stuffed it in his pants and walked out,” said Rosi Barrios, an employee in the 2023 incident.
One of the more recent rip-offs was a holiday-time heist of gifts in the lobby of the liquor store’s building where an Uber Eats driver snatched several packages after making his delivery.
“The guy [in 2025] was caught,” said Barrios.
Months later, they’re hoping for the same fate for the on-the-run booze hound.
Anybody with information on the subject’s whereabouts, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS or the City of Miami Police Department (305) 603-6640.
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