San Antonio ‘Brisket Bandit’ Strikes Again; Steals More Meat

San Antonio has a bandit on the loose, and he’s reportedly taking brisket and other goods from Texas meat markets and restaurants. On Saturday, the alleged meat thief, now known as the “brisket bandit,” stole beer, smoked briskets and a trash can from Augie’s Barbed Wire Smokehouse, on 3709 N. St. Mary’s St.

According to MySA, a white male wearing a white baseball cap, blue jeans and a navy blue jacket was caught on the restaurant’s surveillance camera taking 10 cases of beer, 13 briskets and a new garbage can. He loaded the stolen goods into a white van and drove away while the restaurant’s pit boss was on a coffee break.

Restaurant owner Augie Cortez took to social media in an attempt to find the man who allegedly robbed the smokehouse. Cortez posted several surveillance camera still images of the suspect on the company Facebook page. Per Cortez, the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) is investigating the crime and working with the surveillance footage.

This isn’t the first time this year that San Antonio restaurants and meat markets have been robbed. In early January, someone allegedly broke into The Smoke Shack, located off of Broadway St., and stole 12 pork butts. On January 16, someone stole over 400 pounds of meat from the Two Bros. Meat Market, on San Antonio’s North Side.

Although Two Bros. caught the alleged robber on surveillance camera, the suspect was covered in a black mask and black leather jacket. Owner Jason Dady posted an Instagram photo of the meat thief and told Fox 29 that the bandit didn’t just stop at brisket. He reportedly took numerous types of meats by breaking into the back area of the property and cutting the security lock.

“About six cases of brisket, turkey, some sausage, pork ribs, whoever it was took the whole gamut. They were having a feast, that’s for sure.”

In total, more than $3,000 worth of meat and other merchandise has been stolen from the restaurants so far. No one is really sure why the “brisket bandit” wants so much meat, but some people speculate that he’s either attempting to re-sell it or he is having some of the hugest parties in the city.

SAPD asks anyone with any information on the San Antonio brisket bandit to contact them immediately. Meanwhile, be certain to look out for people selling brisket and other meat on the black market, which has increased this year as Texas residents face extremely high meat prices. A similar incident happened last year in Portland, Oregon, after a man was arrested for stealing around $2,700 of meat from Safeway supermarkets.

[Photo courtesy of Augie’s Barbed Wire Smokehouse]