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Outback Steakhouse Laptop Bandit Cuts A Plea Deal

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By HOWARD ALTMAN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 22, 2008

TAMPA - A man whose ability to blend in helped him steal scores of laptop computers across the country then sell them on eBay agreed to plea guilty Wednesday to interstate transportation of stolen property.

Eric Brandon Almly, 34, was arrested in 2007 by Tampa police after he stole 11 laptops from Outback Steakhouse corporate headquarters.

Almly, according to the plea agreement, began stealing laptops as early as October 2004, when he took eight from Callaway Golf of Carlsbad, Calif.

From then until March 2007, he stole more than 80 laptops from companies – including Burger King – in Carlsbad, San Diego, Miami and Tampa.

Using about two dozen aliases, he sold the stolen laptops to people in California, Colorado, Arizona, Florida, Texas and Wisconsin.

Almly, Tampa police say, looked as though he fit in when he took the computers from the Outback offices on March 27, 2007. He wore khaki pants and a polo shirt. He was cleanshaven and well-spoken. As he walked through the headquarters, he never stayed in one area long enough to arouse suspicion.

He blended in so well, police said, that he managed to stuff 11 laptops into a black duffel bag, get past a security guard and drive away.

Police were tipped off that the computers were being sold on eBay, an online auction site. That information led to Almly, 33, who was arrested at his home in Miami Beach.

Inside Almly's apartment, police said, they found three of the 11 computers stolen from Outback. Four had been sold on eBay, and the remaining four have not been found, Tampa Police Department Detective Larry Brass said.

Police found several other computers inside the apartment. Almly said they were not stolen.

During an interview with police, Almly said he was a legitimate dealer of laptops. Almly said he bought computers from Web auction sites and sold them for a $200 or $300 profit, Brass said.

This time, instead of buying the laptops, he stole them, police said.

"He got greedy," Brass said.

One laptop was worth $1,700. Others were worth $1,100 apiece. Almly was selling them for $600 to $800, Brass said.

In 2006, authorities in San Diego found Almly with a laptop stolen in Colorado. Authorities in Colorado issued a warrant in connection with that incident.

At the time, he was on probation in California for being involved in a hit-and-run and possessing stolen property.

Brass said the March 27, 2007, events at Outback unfolded this way:

Almly came to Tampa to visit a woman he recently had met. During his three-day trip, he stopped at the Outback corporate building at 2202 N. West Shore Blvd. about 5:30 p.m.

An employee working in a corner office that day didn't recognize Almly as a co-worker but discounted his presence because he blended in.

Carrying a duffel bag, Almly left the building about 9:15 p.m. and jogged through the parking lot, drawing a security guard's attention.

Almly told the guard he worked there and questioned why the guard halted him.

Brass said the guard did not have the authority to detain the man, who left in a PT Cruiser.

Brass did not know what the computers' hard drives contained.

In a statement at the time, Outback Executive Vice President Joseph Kadow said the company extends its "sincere thanks" to police for arresting Almly.

The plea agreement calls for a maximum sentence of 10 years, a fine of up to $302,000 and a term of supervised release of three years.

Editor Howard Altman can be reached at (813) 259-7629.

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