POWAY, Calif. (KGTV) - The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department is investigating an overnight break-in at a Poway winery that was recently closed during the city’s water shutdown.
Bernardo Winery owner Ross Rizzo Jr. said security cameras captured a person walking through the grounds around midnight Tuesday, and then again after 4 a.m.
During the second time he is caught on camera, the man appears to be wearing the same clothes as the initial break-in but had a motorcycle-type helmet covering his face.
Rizzo said the thief stole six copper and brass pipes worth nearly $2,500. The stranger also took propane tanks from restaurant heaters, umbrellas, and Christmas decorations.
A fence in the perimeter was knocked down, and that’s how Rizzo believes the thief got in and out.
It is unclear if there were others involved, but only one person was seen in security footage.
The burglary comes only days after the winery was forced to shut down all last week, as Poway dealt with fears of storm runoff contaminating their water system.
Rizzo said the theft will cost them, but it will not set them back anymore. They will open as usual all week and proceed with Holiday Nights, their most significant event of the year, which encompasses six days of holiday events.
“We are so ready to get back to work after last week. They could drive a truck through the restaurant, and I think we’d be OK,” Rizzo said jokingly.
