Tavern owner attacked hours after reporting burglary

Navy vet's truck burglarized; 6 hours later, he is beaten up, hospitalized

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Less than six hours after $4,000 in cash was stolen from a Northwest Jacksonville tavern owner in a smash-and-grab burglary Tuesday, the 73-year-old owner was brutally attacked on his way home. 

Navy veteran Curtis Kimbler, who has owned Greybeards Tavern on Commonwealth Avenue for 20 years, spoke to News4Jax Tuesday after the bar's surveillance video captured someone breaking into his Dodge pickup truck, which was parked outside, and stealing the bank deposit bags inside the vehicle in under 12 seconds. 

"I walked out to put money in my truck -- several thousand dollars. I walked back in to get the rest of my material, and on my way back out, in that 12 seconds, it was all over," Kimbler said Tuesday.

Later that evening, friends said Kimber, who also goes by Greybeard, was walking home from another bar near 103rd Street and Ricker Road when someone attacked him. 

When he showed up at home, bloody, Kimbler's wife said she called 911 and then first responders rushed him to the hospital.

There's no word if the two crimes are connected, but police are investigating both. 

Jenna Carroll, a bartender at Greybeards Tavern, told News4Jax Thursday that she doesn't know who attacked her boss or why. 

"He doesn't remember a whole lot," she said. 

Carroll said she hopes the two incidents aren't connected.

"I don't want to think that. I really don't think so," Carroll said.

Kimbler was hospitalized for two days. He had to get stitches and now has bruises on his face. 

Though Kimbler will have a tough recovery, Carroll said he has a lot of friends supporting him and making sure he's OK.

"Everybody loves him. But he loves everybody, probably, more," Caroll said. 

Anyone with any information about either of the crimes is asked to call the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office at 904-630-0500. To remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.


About the Author:

Lifetime Jacksonville resident anchors the 8 and 9 a.m. weekday newscasts and is part of the News4Jax I-Team.