Caught on Camera

Family-owned Miami eatery target of numerous break-ins

The manager of Luna Pasta e Dolci says the suspect gets in the same way each time.

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A South Florida family-owned business has been broken into and burglarized several times in the last few months. 

For almost seven years, Luna Pasta e Dolci has served the Miami community on Biscayne Boulevard and Northeast 68th Street. They opened their ristorante location on 69th Street a year ago.

“The neighborhood loved it, thank God, and it just kept growing,” said Alberto Fernandez, the manager of the Luna takeout location.

But Fernandez described the last few months as a nightmare. He said someone has broken into the business at least four times in the last few months and the damage is still visible.

The latest break-in happened Thursday morning after midnight. Fernandez shared surveillance video that shows someone using a rock to smash one of the windows, going inside and searching for whatever they could find.

“He tried looking everywhere, he broke a few computers, our register, our system,” Fernandez said.

About a minute after breaking in later, the suspect was gone. Fernandez said that person didn't find any money because they didn't leave any in the register this time.

However, the latest break-in impacted business Thursday because their computers and system were down.

Miami Police said on May 18, the suspect also busted through another window and stole between $100 and $200. Business owner Gabriel Medici said there were two more break-ins before the May 18 incident.

After the first few break-ins, they installed the cameras, Fernandez said.

“This is obviously the same guy because he always does the exact same thing,” he said.

The damages will set them back thousands of dollars.

“I don't think he cares much,” Fernandez said. “He sees it as an easy payday, break a window with a rock and walk in, walk out in under 30, so unless we stop him, he's not going to stop himself.”

Fernandez believes someone knows who this person is. They're asking the community, the one they've served for years, to now help them catch the person responsible. He’s also encouraging other business owners in the area who have surveillance cameras to look back and see if they’ve seen the same person before.

If you recognize the person in the surveillance video, call Miami Police.

There is a GoFundMe for the business.

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