ST. PETE BEACH - A burglar was caught this morning crawling out of a hole at the Village Inn in St. Pete Beach after a restaurant supervisor heard noise and called police, reports state.
John Wesley Saatio, 28, who uses the alias John Wayne, was charged with commercial burglary to an occupied dwelling, jail reports state.
The break-in occurred at 4:46 a.m. at the business, 4945 Gulf Blvd. Supervisor Carol Johnson heard a "pounding sound" at the back of the business and called police. When a patrol officer arrived, he saw a 2-by-2-foot hole at the rear of the eatery and a sledgehammer nearby.
The officer heard an electric saw and spotted the burglar's legs in the hole. A dispatcher told Johnson to leave through the front door. Saatio apparently heard Johnson leaving and tried to get out through the same hole he had come in through, police said. That's when he was arrested.
In addition to burglary, Saatio, of 7224 Coquina Key Way, No. 4, was also charged with possession
of burglary tools after police confiscated the sledgehammer, along with a crowbar, an electric saw and five blades for the saw, reports state. Saatio was wearing a mask and gloves.
Saatio caused more than $1,000 damage when he smashed the hole in the wall, reports state.
He was being held at the Pinellas County Jail on $17,150 bail.
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