ORANGE PARK, Fla. – A popular restaurant in the Orange Park area was burglarized over the weekend, according to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said it was the second time someone burglarized Dee’s Music Bar and Grill on Loch Rane Boulevard, just west of Blanding Boulevard.
The Sheriff’s Office on Monday posted photos on Facebook of a person who detectives said they believe is responsible.
Delores Keeney, the owner of the restaurant, is offering $1,000 for any information leading to an arrest.
COMMUNITY HELP — Take a look at these pictures and tell us if you know who this person is. This is the second time...
Posted by Clay County Sheriff's Office, Florida on Monday, June 21, 2021
Keeney told News4Jax that a man was seen on surveillance video breaking into her business through a drive-up window early Sunday morning, snatching bottles of liquor from a storage room and loading the liquor into a car. Keeney said it happened after a shipment of liquor had been delivered. Keeney said the value of the liquor taken was $1,300.
Nearly five weeks ago, after a shipment of liquor was delivered to the restaurant, security cameras captured what appears to be the same man busting into the restaurant and going toward the same storage area. That time, Keeney said, the amount of liquor taken was $3,500.
“That was just on one invoice and not including what was on the shelf,” Keeney said.
Video shows the man signaling to someone in what appears to be the same car to pull the vehicle up, where the liquor was loaded.
But video is not all investigators have. News4Jax has learned investigators have DNA evidence believed to come from the man because they said that when he busted through the drive-up window, he left a trail of blood. Investigators also collected DNA from the first break-in.
Meanwhile, loyal customers who News4Jax spoke with are outraged over what happened because they know the restaurant barely survived the pandemic. The restaurant has also traditionally held fundraisers to help people and organizations in need.
“She kept her employees on as much as she could,” customer Kari Chaney said. “We all struggled through the pandemic. It was crazy, and to think people would just break in and do that when we’ve all struggled.”
Prior to these burglaries, Keeney said, “We’ve never had anything happen like this.”
Anyone with information about the burglaries is asked to call detectives at 904-687-7340.