Slammin' Sammy's stolen BBQ grill found, man charged

A Cleveland businessman will soon have one of his prized possessions back after it was stolen from a parking lot where he's served food for nearly a decade.

On Sept. 25, I spoke to Sam Spain about the theft of his red mobile grill and kitchen from East 83rd Street and Cedar Avenue.

"People call me and say all the time, 'I knew you was cooking. We smelled it,'" Spain said at the time.

Watch News 5's original report from Sept. 25 when Sam Spain and community members talked about the impact of the theft

'The grill is part of the community'; Local grill master upset over theft of mobile grill caught on camera

He said the situation left him in disbelief and thinking someone wanted him out of business.

"I don't know why… but in this community we stand on business. So that's not gonna work," Spain said.

Surveillance footage showed two SUVs pulling into the parking lot. One vehicle backed up to the grill hitched it, and the vehicles drove away. Spain said locks were on the grill.

Tuesday, Cleveland police confirmed the grill had been located on the city's east side on Sept. 27.

Sgt. Wilfredo Diaz said officers and detectives worked hard to solve all cases, including property crimes, and good police work led them to the grill.

"We're thankful that we were able to locate this grill. And we're also thankful that we were able to effect an arrest and continue look at these type of crimes," Diaz said. "And we hope that the message is out there that the Cleveland Division of Police is gonna investigate these crimes and we're gonna look for results."

A Cleveland man was arrested and charged with felony receiving stolen property.

We Follow Through Want us to continue to follow through on a story? Let us know. First Name Last Name Email What story do you want us to follow through on? What questions do you have? Please include the headline and/or URL of the story you want us to follow through on. Provide any other information that may help us to follow through on the story Captcha