Restaurant owners use social media to solve crimes

Want to solve a crime or possibly recover stolen goods? Think about crowdsourcing on social media.

On his Facebook page Tuesday, barbecue pitmaster David Deal shared the recent theft of a $5,500 mobile smoker stolen last weekend from the front parking lot of The Well Coffeehouse & Marketplace in Hockessin.

Deal, who has been smoking ribs, chicken, beef brisket and pulled pork for The Well for the past five years, included a photo of the 12-foot reverse, pull-back smoker that's owned by Trinity Community Church. The church, which runs The Well eatery off Lancaster Pike, gives all of its profits from the business to charity. 

Deal, known as "Big D," was shocked to see his Facebook post was shared more than 1,700 times by family, friends, strangers and numerous members of the region's barbecue community. It later grew to more than 1,940 shares.

People expressed outrage at the crime, especially because the crooks made off with a smoker owned by a church.

"That is too low down and dirty for words, Big D – got eyes out and ears to the ground," Jack Cassidy wrote. 

"Definitely shared. I have friends looking out for it. Karma will get 'em," Tina Kemp said.

Less than 24 hours later, Deal received a phone call that the smoker was found. It was abandoned about 7 miles away, outside of an auto repair shop on Greenhill Avenue in Wilmington. Someone at the shop called Deal after recognizing the smoker from a shared Facebook post. The thieves were long gone.

"People thought I'd go out of business. It really upset a lot of people," Deal said. "There's no way I would have ever gotten it back without Facebook, I guarantee."

The smoker was fine, though Deal said it had been used for cooking. He pointed to drips of "cheap" barbecue sauce and burned food remains on the grates. 

"They didn't know what they were doing. They used it like a grill. They built a fire in the smoking chamber instead of the firebox," Deal said Wednesday afternoon as he stood next to the smoker now parked back at The Well.

A customer at The Well on Wednesday afternoon called out to Deal from his car. "Congratulations!" he said to the pitmaster and then gave him a thumbs-up.

Dewey Beach restaurateur Jimmy O'Conor also recently used Facebook to solve a crime. He posted surveillance video of a man allegedly stealing Red Stripe beer and an undisclosed amount of cash from his restaurant, Woody's Dewey Beach Bar & Grill off Del. 1.

The post got more than 3,240 shares from friends, customers, strangers and local fellow restaurant owners. The video was even put up on an electronic billboard outside The Starboard, Dewey's popular bar and eatery.

Starboard owner Steve Montgomery wrote on Facebook: "People and businesses in Dewey work together as one big family. When this guy who robbed Woody's last night is found, he will be prosecuted to the utmost degree and never ever allowed back in Dewey Beach! Anyone who recognizes him, please let Dewey police know immediately."

Other restaurant owners in and around the state were equally angry and also shared O'Conor's post.

"Hope you catch him. I shared," Donna LaVigne McKelvey wrote. "We are the owners of Hammer's Bar and Grill in Warwick, Maryland, and know first hand what it is like to be broken into. Hope this guy is caught. So tired of this type of thing happening to good hardworking people."

Now, it's looking like O'Conor's story will have a happy ending. 

"The young man in the video has been identified and will most likely be in police custody by the end of the week," O'Conor wrote July 7 on his Facebook account.

"The outpouring kindness and concern has been overwhelming! I can't say enough about the community and for their support and all the people that shared this story....THANK YOU!!!"

O'Conor added: "Don't mess with Dewey Beach or its people!!!!"

Facebook as a crime-fighting tool is hardly new. For years, police agencies have posted photos and videos, thus turning local citizens into social media sleuths to help identify suspects.

Restaurant owners and other businesses also are using crowdsourcing to track down thieves and stolen goods.  

Deal said he was overwhelmed by the number of people who banded together to help him after the theft of the church's pricey smoker. 

"I didn't expect it to spread that much," he said. 

Deal said the smoker was likely stolen sometime between 7 p.m. July 6 and 6:30 a.m. July 7. It wasn't locked. Surveillance cameras at The Well were not operating. Deal he didn't contact police because the smoker didn't have a serial number or license plate.

"I didn't even call in a police report. There's was no way to prove it was mine," he said.

Deal said the stolen, wood-fired smoker, which can be towed like a trailer, was one he seldom uses. He has another smoker that he uses almost daily. It's parked behind The Well's building.

"This is just a backup," Deal said. "I haven't cooked on it in two or three years. I just put it out front to attract customers. They see the smoke, and they know to come here. It's sat out here for three years, and no one has touched it."

Well, until last weekend.

Deal said he thought he would never see the smoker again. "I never expected to get it back. I expect it would be at the scrapyard." 

He said he didn't think about posting the theft on Facebook until Tuesday.

"I put it on expecting friends I know to share it. Within an hour, it had 350 shares," Deal said. "People were calling that I don't even know. People were offering to loan me smokers. I didn't even realize it was going to get that big."

The speed at recovering the smoker back was amazing, he said.

"I think the pressure was on. They [the thieves] knew it was out there. The barbecue people are really tight-knit. That's probably why it spread so fast. Everyone is on Facebook. It's crazy." 

Deal said he is now thinking about sharing Facebook posts he sees. "You know, you see a kid missing in, like, California. I don't share it. It's so far away. But now, I will. Who knows who will see it?"

Deal said the theft of the smoker also hasn't made his faith in the people waver.

"I knew from day one I should have gotten a lock," he said. "I still trust people, but now, I'm getting a lock." 

After a 2012 theft at Frank Pagliaro's store, Frank’s Union Wine Mart in Wilmington, Pagliaro turned what could have been sour grapes into major wine sales.  

When a sweat pants-wearing, baseball-capped dude walked out of the 1206 N. Union St. store without paying for a $25 bottle of Tuck Beckstoffer 2010 Est 75 Cabernet Sauvignon, Pagliaro posted the video of the shoplifter on his FranksWine.com Facebook page.

Then, he created a “bounty” for the guy he called "ass clown." Whoever turned in the shoplifter would receive a case of the wine that was stolen.

The thief was never found, and the bounty was eventually lifted. But Pagliaro started calling the stolen wine Ass Clown Cab. Sales increased 1,650 percent in 30 days.

And six years later, customers still ask about the theft. Pagliaro also still sells "Ass Clown Cab," "and people still buy it." 

While it was a solid business move, don't try a five-finger discount at Frank's, a store that's been in business for 32 years. 

“We prosecute people,” Pagliaro said.

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Contact Patricia Talorico at (302) 324-2861 or ptalorico@delawareonline.com and on Twitter @pattytalorico.