Man Caught On Camera Stealing From Businesses In Capitol Hill District

Business owners in the Capitol Hill district are fed up with an accused thief who cases the area on his bicycle. But early Monday morning, he hit one business heavily guarded by surveillance cameras, and is finally caught in the act.

We're told the alleged thief even sells possibly stolen items to people in the neighborhood, like Juan Lopez and his wife.

"Boom box, clothes, tennis shoes, jackets," Juan Lopez said.

Lopez knows the alleged neighborhood thief very well; but this is the first time the man who rides around the neighborhood on his bike is accused of stealing from Lopez and his wife.

"And he's on camera."

Six surveillance cameras surround Lopez's bar and restaurant on S. Robinson.

"He drives around the neighborhood day and night on his bicycle."

And Lopez says he's been casing the area for at least a year, and believes neighboring businesses have already been hit.

In the surveillance video, it's 4:53 a.m. Monday. The man rolls up on his bike, checks to see if doors on his wife's burrito truck and the truck in front of it are unlocked. He then parks his bike over to the side.

After he takes a quick peak inside Lopez's restaurant, he makes a move.

"And he pulls on her truck door, and he opens up the merchandise door," Lopez said.

Stealing everything inside in less than five minutes, and Lopez and his wife were inside their restaurant the entire time!

Then the unexpected. Just before our interview, our camera was rolling when the alleged thief was spotted again, clearly not worried about getting caught. Lopez believes he's the man caught on video Monday.

This isn't the first time Lopez's surveillance cameras have caught area thieves in action. Within the last year he's had an entire AC unit stolen off his roof. Months later, his cameras capture another brazen thief stealing a bag of tools out the back of his truck. Both, in broad daylight.

Lopez says he did call police, but says officers never showed up, so he called back and canceled the call.

Lopez believes the man who stole merchandise out his wife's burrito truck Monday morning is in his early 40s, and lives in an apartment nearby.