Boca Raton Man Arrested After Alleged Break-In at Abandoned Delray Beach Café

Jake Treacy (Photo: Palm Beach County Jail)

A 26-year-old Boca Raton man was arrested Friday morning after police say he was found at a closed Delray Beach café that had been ransacked, telling officers he had been working there for days to open a bar.

Jake Treacy was charged with two counts of burglary of an unoccupied structure and one count of criminal mischief over $1,000, all felonies, according to Delray Beach Police records. Police were called at about 6:42 a.m. Oct. 16 by a witness who reported a man inside the former PurLife Café, 45 N.E. Second Avenue, throwing items around. The business, part of the Ocean City Lumber Company complex, is functionally abandoned and closed to the public.

An officer who responded found the café’s interior in disarray, with trash strewn across the floor. Treacy was allegedly seen walking just outside the business wearing an apron, the report said. Treacy told police he had been working diligently for days inside the café to open a bar, and claimed the owners knew he was there, the report states. But the property manager for both buildings told police by phone she never gave Treacy access to either property and does not know him.

Officers found the building’s doors double locked and secure, except for a rear door on the east side that appeared to have been pried open, according to the report. Police said it was unclear how Treacy got in. A sergeant also noticed that a second abandoned building nearby, at 220 N.E. First St., was in disarray. Police said it did not appear anyone forcibly entered that building, and it was unknown whether its doors were unlocked.

Officers said damage in both buildings included fire extinguishers, tables and glasses, along with paintings ripped from the walls. Police estimated the destroyed property at more than $1,000.

The report also states that an off-duty Florida Highway Patrol trooper told officers she saw Treacy inside PurLife Café at about 8:30 p.m. Oct. 15, the night before the arrest. Treacy was arrested at about 7:23 a.m. and booked about 10 minutes later. Police listed him as unarmed. He remained lodged in the Palm Beach County Jail on Saturday, in lieu of $10,000 combined bail on the three separate charges.