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Burglars make off with $15,000 in goods from Tampa cigar shop

News Channel 8 photo by ERIC HAUSMANN

Davelis "D.C." Goutoufas, owner of Gaspar's Cigar Shoppe, points out the site of the break-in.

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By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 6, 2009

Updated: 07/06/2009 02:28 pm

TAMPA - Thousands of dollars worth of fine cigars, liquor and unknown items from private lockers were stolen in a late-night burglary of a cigar shop on West Shore Boulevard this weekend.

Thieves broke into an adjacent office and then pushed down a drywall section to get into Gaspar's Cigar Shoppe, according to Tampa police.

The burglars also made off with a plasma television, police said. The burglary occurred just days before the second anniversary of the opening of the shop at 3675 S. West Shore Blvd, the owner, Davelis "D.C." Goutoufas, said in an e-mail to The Tampa Tribune.

The value of the pilfered cigars and property totaled about $15,000, he said.

The popular shop features an all-hours smoking den with premium cigars and gourmet coffee, according to the shop's Web site. The shop also offers private rooms for dominos or television sets to watch sports and has private lockers for customers. Just what was stolen from those lockers was not known, police said. Goutoufas was to provide a list of customers to police to figure out what was taken.

He said that 18 of the 88 private lockers were "popped open" by the burglars, and that's where most of the stolen high-priced cigars were located. Those cigars ranged in price from $10 to $100, he said.

In all, about 50 boxes - about 1,000 cigars - were stolen, Goutoufas said.

The theft happened between 1:30 and 3 a.m. Friday, police said.

The thieves cut the wires to the front security pad of the shop before prying a door to the adjacent office.

Two suspects, whose images were captured on a security camera, came through the wall but when they entered the walk-in humidor section of the store, the alarm sounded and the thieves left.

One suspect was described as being a white, Hispanic male in his late teens with a slim build and light-to-medium complexion. He was clean shaven with very short brown hair and a receding hairline. He wore a large bracelet or watch on his left wrist and a dark blue T-shirt with four-inch letters on the front. He wore blue denim shorts to midcalf and black plastic sandals.

The second suspect was said to be a black male in his late teens with a muscular build and clean shaven with a dark complexion. He had short black hair and wore a white tank top and black shorts and black tennis shoes with white tops.

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7761.

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