Does this look like someone who would go to multiple Virginia Beach liquor stores and steal bottles of tequila?
This is the man that Virginia Beach police are calling the Tequila Bandit. The man's name is Claspis Buster Cooper Jr., and he is being accused of shoplifting tequila from multiple area liquor stores multiple times. Every time, he is accused of stealing the same type of liquor: tequila. Police are accusing Cooper of entering the ABC store on Laskin Road on April 15, 17, and 19, with another man and shoplifting a bottle of tequila each time. This pattern suggests that it takes Cooper and his accomplice two days to go through a bottle of tequila. Besides shoplifting, it is clear these two men have a serious problem. But as police investigated, they discovered evidence that Cooper and Co. also stole tequila from a liquor store on Providence Road on April 2. Now, investigators are poring through other liquor stores' surveillance footage to see just how extensive the Tequila Bandit's racket was.
Initially, Virginia Beach police had no idea who either of the suspects were. They posted the surveillance footage to social media and hoped for the best. Investigators got a break when an officer in the Norfolk Sheriff's Office recognized Claspis Buster Cooper Jr. as one of the men in the surveillance footage.
Officers promptly arrested Cooper and charged him with a number of shoplifting and theft charges. More charges may be forthcoming if investigators are able to tie Cooper to any other thefts.
At the moment, police have still not been able to identify Cooper's accomplice and the footage the department has released so far does not give a good shot of the other man's face.
If anyone recognizes this other man, or knows who Claspis Buster Cooper Jr. was working with, please contact the Virginia Beach Police Department.
