By james art 
A Cuban man is wanted by police in connection with liquor store robberies in Hialeah, one of which involved the theft of three bottles of whiskey valued at about $500.
On October 13, at approximately 10:55 p.m., just a few minutes before closing time at El Gigante Liquor #2 – one of the oldest liquor stores in the city of Hialeah – a shoplifter approached the counter, apparently to pay for three bottles of liquor. Instead of doing so, however, he warned the clerk that he was going to steal them and instructed him not to interfere. He then fled the scene.
William Cholo, manager of the liquor store located at 560 Hialeah Drive, told AmericaTeVé that the suspect entered with the intention of making a purchase and “started walking around the liquor store.”
“At almost closing time, I was busy counting the money and tidying up when he grabbed three bottles, came up to me and said quietly, ‘I’m taking this, don’t do anything.’ At that moment I was paralyzed, I couldn’t touch the door, I couldn’t touch anything, and suddenly he ran away,” Cholo said.
The officer wasn’t sure if the thief was armed and tried to remain calm. After the person left, the clerk peeked in and saw him get into a car waiting outside and drive off. Both the robbery and the escape were captured on the restaurant’s surveillance cameras.
According to Cholo, the person took two bottles of Macallan whiskey and one bottle of Dewar’s 18 Year Old, valued at about $400 to $500.
In an interview with the television channel, the officer said that because of his accent, the suspect was of Cuban nationality and did not hide his face while carrying out the robbery. He also described the hat the suspect was wearing that said “I’m Chucky.”
After the incident, the owner of the liquor store filed a police report. However, a few days later, the same person visited another of his liquor stores, TLG Liquors, located at 405 Hialeah Drive. To his amazement, he was wearing the same hat he had used during the robbery!
This time he didn’t steal bottles, but he looked at the same brands of drinks he stole at the other establishment and even exchanged a few words with the owner, who was able to recognize him. When he left, the man followed, but he was gone.
“Maybe he got in a car and left. He even wore the same hat, which is the strangest thing. Who commits a crime and puts on the same hat? It’s like saying, ‘Look, here I am, I’m the one who stole. Thank God he didn’t pull a gun or something. It hadn’t even been two weeks since he robbed the other liquor store, which means he was looking around to see who he could steal from and we weren’t. I don’t know if he can come back,” said the liquor store owner, identified only by his first name Oscar.
The businessman and his family have operated several liquor stores in Miami-Dade County for years, but in the past year they have fallen victim to a significant increase in theft. In 2024, they experienced over 10 robberies resulting in thousands of dollars in losses.
Oscar emphasizes that in all cases the thieves commit their crimes knowing that they are being recorded by the establishments’ surveillance cameras and that the videos will be provided to the authorities.