Same burglar seeing breaking into Atlanta restaurant 3 times in 10 days

ATLANTA - The same guy breaks into the same restaurant three times in 10 days. The crimes, all caught on camera, happened at Hotto Hotto near Hill Street in Grant Park.

The restaurant owner says the crook used the restaurant’s security code to open the lock box, took out the key, unlocked the door and walked in the first two times. He used a more crude method the third time.

The crook broke into the Hotto Hotto early in the morning on January 14th. The restaurant shared surveillance video of a man, wearing a dark hoodie and light-colored shorts walking up to the front door, punching in the code to the box holding the key. Then walks in.

"Came right into our bar, looked at whatever he wanted, grabbed whatever he could grab and out he went," said restaurant owner Angelo Wong.

The man made off with several bottles of top-shelf liquor. Wong says he took steps to prevent a similar break-in. "We changed the code and there were only five employees who knew what the code was at the time," Wong said.

Wong says the same guy did it again a few days later on January 19th. That time he wore a light hoodie and light pants. He walked behind the bar, loaded bottles into a bag and walked out. "Opened the lock box with the new code that very limited people knew, so we suspect that it’s an inside job," Wong said.

Wong kept changing the security code every night. But the guy came back a third time on January 24th. "He pried the lock box off the wall, broke it completely went away from our cameras," Wong said.

He wore a light hoodie and light pants that time as he walked behind the bar, took his time as the alarm blared, filled a suitcase, zipped it up and wheeled it out.

"We could tell it was the same guy," said manager Ian Palmatier, who added that the crook got away with about $2,000-worth of alcohol.

When asked if an employee could have been involved in the crime, Palmatier answered "it almost certainly has to have been."

Atlanta police are investigating. The question is who did it? "It’s very creepy. Disappointing that we essentially got set up," said Palmatier.

"We’re a local business, small business, mom-and-pop shop so it to have that happen really hurts us," Wong said.