Hungry burglar gets hams in heist

LARGO, Fla., Sept. 4 (UPI) -- The owner of a Florida Pizza Shack restaurant says he has "beefed up" security after losing 60 pounds of hamburger meat and other items in a break-in.

Whoever broke into the Largo store's walk-in cooler also stole 40 pounds of sausage, 30 pounds of Genoa salami, two hams, 40 pounds of provolone cheese and other products worth more than $1,000, the St. Petersburg Times said Saturday.

"I've beefed up the security back there," owner Darrell Youness told the newspaper.

Tuesday's heist was caught on a security video and took less than 4 minutes. Youness said the burglar may have had an accomplice, because he appeared to be talking to someone outside the camera's view.

It's likely the thief had a customer for the products, Youness said.

"I think he sold it to somebody in the restaurant business or he had customers for it," Youness said. He said it's not unheard of for people to offer stolen products to restaurant operators at discounted prices.

"Our motto is, if someone comes to the back and tries to sell you something like that, you act like you're buying it then you call 911," he said.