St. Paul Sleepover Burger Joint Burglar Caught On Camera

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - Police say he spent Wednesday night asleep in a burger restaurant waiting to burglarize it. On Thursday night, he slept in jail.

A security alarm sounded in the middle of the night at Burger Moe's in St. Paul. While police eventually caught up with Tai Nguyen they weren't expecting his back story.

Police say what Tai Nguyen wanted wasn't on the menu at Burger Moe's.

At 3 a.m. Wednesday, St. Paul squads responded to an alarm at the downtown business. The restaurant's owner, who didn't want to talk on camera, told police his surveillance system showed a man stealing a laptop and tablet.

Officers couldn't find anyone inside, but a few blocks away a man told them someone had just walked by trying to sell him a laptop.

Police caught up with Nguyen around the corner at the transit station.

It's when they say he came clean, telling them he went into Burger Moe's when it was open, fell asleep in the basement and waited to take the electronics. But that wasn't all.

Police say this isn't the first time this guy had slept at Burger Moe's. Two weeks ago, when an employee came to open the restaurant for the day, he spotted Nygen in the entryway, locked inside.

That case wasn't reported to police. A few hours passed that day before the restaurant realized Nguyen had taken a tablet.

The owner did say his employees will be taking a better look in the basement, with the wish that from now on it's only the food their visitors are after.

Nguyen has a history of burglarizing downtown St. Paul businesses. This is the fourth time he's been charged within the last four years. For this latest case, he faces up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.