Florida man arrested for allegedly stealing lobsters worth $1K from Miami restaurant on August 5
MIAMI, FLORIDA: A Florida man was reportedly arrested for allegedly stealing lobsters worth at least $1,000 from a Miami restaurant in July. Joseph Paul Putzulu, 55, was arrested on Saturday, August 5, and faces two felony counts of burglary of an unoccupied structure and one count of third-degree grand theft.
After the initial interrogation, Putzulu was booked into Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. The Florida resident reportedly has a history of felony crimes.
Who is Joseph Paul Putzulu?
According to the New York Post, when Putzulu was taken into custody on Saturday, he was already out on a felony bond. He had earlier been charged with trespassing and possession of cocaine.
On July 26, the Miami Police Department reportedly received a call from the restaurant's owner alleging that when he came to his eatery, he found the freezer open. Upon reviewing the surveillance footage, the owner realized that the theft was committed by the same man who had stolen several packages of lobsters from the restaurant on July 23. He also saw the similarity in the patterns of the theft. In the surveillance video, the owner saw the suspect placing packets of lobsters in a garbage bin. Then he threw the garbage bin and a hand truck over the fence and fled. The same pattern was followed on July 26.
The arrest affidavit, obtained by Fox News Digital, reads, “The defendant is seen throwing what appears to be packs of food over the rear gated fence. At approximately 2:51 a.m., the suspect is seen using a black cart to assist him to climb back over the gated fence to leave. The defendant is then seen loading the packets of food into the red shopping cart and leaving the area.”
How was Joseph Putzulu identified?
Putzulu is said to be homeless. According to WPLG Local10, his last identified address was on the Miami shores. The man was also seen in a video scaling a container separating the fenced-in area from the parking lot. After he got up there, he was found throwing food packs over the barrier. He was identified by the officers who had prior experience of dealing with him. They said that Putzulu had targeted the OFF SITE Nano Brewery at 8250 NE Second Ave at least twice.