Police Hunt For The 'Potato Chip Thief'

It's crunch time for police officers tracking down a prolific crisp thief in Oklahoma.

Footage recently emerged from El Gallo, a small restaurant in Tulsa, of an unknown person breaking into the premises and hightailing with the cash register and more than 30 bags of crisps.

Its likeness to other thefts in the area - specifically Citi Trends, Tia Chepa, and El Gallo Loco on 31st and Garnett - has seen the suspect in the clip dubbed the 'Potato Chip Thief'.

The thief hasn't been identified. (Fox 23)

Locals and police alike are becoming increasingly concerned about tracking them down. 'This person is obviously committing, what we think are multiple burglaries in this same area with these business owners. We need to get him identified,' said Tulsa Police Officer Danny Bean, as per Fox 23.

In footage shared with the outlet, the person can be seen making their way around the counter before encountering some struggles with the register. With some extra effort, they manage to unplug it and carry it out, before stealing an entire rack of crisps.

'It is pretty dang serious. They are felonies, he is destroying property to gain entry into a property illegally and then taking their belongings. It is an invasion of privacy,' Bean said.

As well as the loss of the crisps, the broken door cost the owner $550 to fix, with another $700 to replace the cash register - and that's not even mentioning the money in the register when it was stolen, believed to be around $90, bringing the total to nearly $1,300.

The thief struggled to flee with the cash register. (Fox 23)

'It is a loss of inventory and loss for that store owner no matter if it is 30 bags of chips or 30 cases of Coca-Cola. It is still a loss for them,' Bean said.

A staff member of a business next door to Tia Chepa, which was also broken into, has echoed calls for the thief to be found, but also said he was thankful that nobody was hurt in the various incidents.

'It is important to avoid having other people go through what they have recently gone through,' Orlando Gomez told the outlet.

'It is sad to hear the situation, but we always have to remember it is better the material than our lives because it could have been our lives.'

Anyone with information about the 'Potato Chip Thief' has been asked to contact crime-stoppers at 918-596-COPS.

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