Why A Georgia Restaurant Is Looking For A Beef Burglar

There's nothing more brazen than committing a crime in a public place. While some thieves break into a business or a home under the cover of darkness or when no one's around, there's something flagrantly shameless about stealing in broad daylight. For one Georgia thief, it would seem the reward was far greater than the risk, pocketing a cool $15,000 not in cash or valuables, but in meat.

According to WSB-TV, a man by the name of Warren Kearny managed to break into a walk-in freezer belonging to Uncle Jack's steakhouse restaurant. As the restaurant had recently stocked up in anticipation for Valentine's Day, Kearny had an impressive selection of many different cuts of meat, like their Wagyu beef and the company's 20-inch "long bones." Kearny was seen stocking up his car with boxes of frozen meat with all the casualness of a customer picking meat from a supermarket deli. So successful was his heist that Kearney returned later that same week, armed with bolt cutters, and broke into the same freezer to pilfer more meat from the restaurant.

While returning to the scene of the crime to commit the same stunt is brazen, it's made even more shocking once it was learned that Kearny wasn't just some random stranger or a disgruntled customer — he was a soon-to-be employee of Uncle Jack's, scheduled to start his new job the following Friday.

While you may worry about making a good impression on a potential employer, one of the things that you definitely shouldn't do is immediately begin to steal from the company once given the job. Warren Kearny, apparently, had no qualms about stealing from his new employer, despite the fact that they would recognize him if they saw him. And, not surprisingly, the head chef was able to quickly identify him on surveillance since he had just been in for a job interview days prior (via Food and Wine). It's believed by the staff that Kearney is selling the meat to a competing restaurant.

Although Kearney's actions are reckless to some and downright idiotic to others, what isn't debatable is the effect Kearney's thefts have had on the restaurant. According to Uncle Jack's general manager, Eddie Elrod, the steakhouse had to reduce their menu to help ease the burden from their enormous financial loss (via FOX 5 Atlanta). Uncle Jack's has even promised a free dinner for two, once a month, for the next year to anyone who can help track down Kearny.

If you have any information on Kearny's whereabouts, please contact Roswell Police Department at (770)-640-4100 or submit information to Crime Stoppers Atlanta.