Robbery At The Lone Star Saloon: What Is America Coming To?

Photo by Txrelichunter

​Here at Hair Balls and the Houston Press, we really love the Lone Star Saloon. Really. That's why we hope that police take swift action and find the dirty, dirty bastard that stole 21 bottles of liquor from Lone Star last weekend.

"I hope they catch the S.O.B.," Joe Lee Thomas, the Lone Star's owner, tells Hair Balls. "They took the most expensive liquor."

He lost about $800 to $1,000 in booze.

The crime is a bit of a mystery, because the thief didn't break into Lone Star, and the front door was found unlocked the next morning, Thomas says. He has a couple theories.
 

First, the thief could have hid in the restroom at closing, waited until everyone was gone, then came out and nabbed the liquor. (A laundry bag -- used to carry the bottles -- and $6 from the cash register were also stolen.)

But Lone Star has a policy for the bartenders to check the restrooms for people before locking up, and it's a good policy because we've found people asleep in the stall. If the bartender forgot to check, this theory could work. Especially since the thief could have unlocked the front door to let himself out, because a set of keys hang on a hook in the bar's office, which is left unlocked.

The keys, however, were still in the office, and that doesn't make sense to Thomas. Why would a thief with a laundry bag full of expensive liquor take the time to replace the keys?

"They would have wanted to get the hell out of there," Thomas says.

The second theory is that the bartender simply forgot to lock the front door, allowing anyone looking for an early morning drink to stroll in and take the alcohol. Some of the stolen bottles were unopened, Thomas says, and others were taken from behind the bar.

"The bartender [that was working the night of the theft] is coming in tonight. I haven't talked to her because she doesn't have a telephone," Thomas says. "But she's been with me for over a year and I haven't had any problems, as far as theft."

About five months ago, someone broke into Lone Star through the side of the building. That thief -- or those thieves -- didn't steal any liquor but busted open vending machines for the cash and change inside, according to Thomas. That was the first break-in at the Lone Star in about five years.

Thomas also told us that an investigator with the Houston Police Department told him that three other bars have been broken into in the last month, and the thieves have taken liquor each time. We haven't heard back from the police department, but we'll be sure to update as soon as we do.