Vandal Arrested After Dressing as an Old West Gunslinger and Destroying $600,000 of Inventory at Winery

The “wine bandit” who emptied $600,000 of wine at Sparkman Cellars has been apprehended by the authorities. (Photo: AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

KIRO 7 reported Thursday that the wine bandit who emptied 5,000 gallons of wine onto a tank room floor at Sparkman Cellars in December has been caught by authorities in Washington. The individual, whom KIRO 7 reports to be a man in his 60s, was a former employee of Sparkman and was processed by King County Jail.

The man was released but faces possible charges.

“We were actually very shocked it happened,” a manager of a neighboring winery named Kelvin Moreira said, according to the outlet. “They have been a part of the community for years, even before I started here.”

The employee entered the facility dressed as an old west gunslinger in December and spilled the equivalent of 24,000 bottles of white wine on the floor from its tanks. At the time, the projected cost of damage was $1 million. KIRO 7 reported the damage has since amounted to $600,000.

“We are a small, tight-knit community,” Darby Winery General Manager Teresa Jones said to KIRO 7. “We were all buzzed about it. We all respect each other, support each other.”

KIRO 7 reported that some of the businesses — like Jones’ — are banding together to support Sparkman Cellars in the aftermath of the damage.

“It was such a gut punch because of all the work, hard work, blood, sweat and tears that go into producing that hand-crafted quality and amount of wine that unfortunately they lost,” Jones lamented.

On Tuesday, an incident eerily similar to this one took place in Spain. An individual broke into Cepa 21 winery and emptied 60,000 liters of wine onto the floor. The estimated loss amounted to approximately $2.7 million.

The unidentified individual was caught on CCTV footage and broke into five tanks, though only three were filled.

“It’s a case of doing harm for the sake of doing harm, by someone who can’t be very balanced, hasn’t got much common sense and is acting out of hatred,” winery owner José Moro said according to Spanish public television TVE. “Everything indicates the person knew where they were.”

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