Investigators searching for ‘ceiling burglar’ who has already hit 15 Lee County businesses

Businesses in Lee County are on high alert after a rooftop burglar has not only stolen money but damaged more than a dozen in the last several weeks.

One restaurant had insulation on the tables, menus and other things just lying on the floor and hole in the roof.

Investigators say the same suspect has hit 15 businesses over the last several weeks, some of them in the same shopping plaza.

“I heard something about it in the news, but I never thought this could happen to me,” said Chris Tsovolos, owner of the Athenian Restaurant in North Fort Myers on Tamiami Trail. He is just one of the many victims of the “ceiling burglar.”

“When you work hard and see some people who never work and they go out and destroy other people’s, it makes you upset,” said Tsovolos.

Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers says the mystery man follows a precise plan.

“The MO is the same every single time. He goes through the roofs of these businesses, makes his way to the rooms through the AC vents, gets in there, goes immediately to the cash register, takes everything that he can out of there and quickly gets out with cash,” said Trish Routte with Crime Stoppers.

He’s targeted small restaurants and businesses throughout Lee County.

“If you’re going in there for the money, hitting a small restaurant or a laundromat, you are not going to get a whole lot of cash out of it. But when you’re hitting 13 or 14 or 15 businesses over a short length of time, that money adds up,” said Routte.

It does add up. We spoke with three business owners who say they lost a combined $2,000 to the thief.

While Tsovolos cleans up the mess, he has one hope: “I hope they catch these people because they don’t belong in the streets.”

If you know anything about the suspect or his whereabouts, you can contact SWFL Crime Stoppers on their website or by calling 1-800-780-TIPS (8477).