Bold booze burglars busted after break-in

SEATTLE — When burglars smashed a glass door of Eduardo Alverado’s popular family-owned Eastlake restaurant and stole thousands of dollars in liquor last week, he felt angry, invaded and unsafe.

When the same burglars crashed into Eduardo’s the same way Sunday night, Alvarado got even.

“This time the police got them. They found where they were hiding,” he said.

Alvarado, who owns Eduardo’s (formerly Azteca) told KIRO 7 the burglars took high-end liquor, and even tried to cook food in the kitchen. Little did the burglars know, a security company was listening to everything they did, with a sophisticated alarm system.

Alvarado pointed to a large brick on the carpet of his dining room.

“This is what they used to break in the first time, and that's the same rock they used last time they were here."

The first break in was last weekend. Burglars smashed the glass door, and stole 40 bottles of high-end tequila and vodka.

Late Sunday night, he says the thieves returned. They smashed through the same door, but while they loaded liquor again, they tripped the burglar alarm. The alarm company called Alvarado.

“Around one o'clock they call me at my house. They say you know there's somebody inside, and we’re getting police over there,” he said.

Seattle police captured one man hiding, and they searched for more.

"We looked in every space, we moved things around, and we thought, there's nobody here,” Alvarado said. Police said maybe the guy left!"

An hour later, after police left, the alarm company called the restaurant owner again, saying the audio sensors could hear a burglar still inside the kitchen.

“He thought he could cook frozen chicken tenders in the microwave,” Alvarado said, adding that the burglar probably never worked at a restaurant.

A Seattle police dog tracked the second burglar hiding in a dark, sealed-off crawl space in the basement. Nearby, bags were filled with frozen seafood, and dozens of bottles of liquor.

“I’m just happy they are in jail now,” he said.

KIRO