Former worker pours out $600,000 worth of wine, WA cops say. Now he’s been arrested
A former worker broke into a Washington winery and dumped out large containers of wine, costing the business approximately $600,000, deputies said.
The man in his 60s was arrested Feb. 21 at his Seattle home on a second-degree burglary charge, months after the incident, the King County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.
On Nov. 22, the man broke into the Sparkman Cellars in Woodinville, deputies said. He was caught on camera wearing a face covering and black cowboy hat, KOMO reported.
Then, he opened the valves on containers of Sauvignon Blanc, which began pouring onto the floor, deputies said.
Surveillance camera footage obtained by KOMO shows the wine flooding the loading area for about nine minutes. The winery lost an estimated 24,000 bottles of wine from the incident, deputies said.
The man has since been released from jail after being processed, deputies said. The burglary charge has been sent to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
Woodinville is about 20 miles northeast of Seattle. It’s known as “wine country” in Washington, with more than 130 wineries in the area.
This story was originally published February 23, 2024 at 2:33 PM with the headline "Former worker pours out $600,000 worth of wine, WA cops say. Now he’s been arrested."
