Bradenton police are asking the public to help identify a man who walked into a local smoke shop, made several items disappear, and then slipped out without anyone catching his name. The theft happened on August 10 at Green Galaxy Smoke Shop, located at 1506 Manatee Avenue East, and detectives say they still don't know who the suspect is more than two weeks later.
The case was publicized in a post from the Bradenton Police Department, which described the unidentified man as a “Vape Houdini Artist” who entered the store, made a few items vanish, and then disappeared himself. Anyone who recognizes him is asked to contact Detective Cerniglia at 941-932-9305 or by email at [email protected]. The department is headquartered in Bradenton, Florida, and can also be reached through its non-emergency line at 941-932-9300, or 911 in an emergency.
ATTEMPT TO ID – VAPE HOUDINI ARTIST: BPD is investigating an August 10 theft from Green Galaxy Smoke Shop, 1506 Manatee Ave. This gentleman entered the store, made a few items disappear and - poof! - vanished himself.
— Bradenton Police Department (@BradentonPD) August 28, 2026
Recognize him? Give Det. Cerniglia a buzz at 941-932-9305 or… pic.twitter.com/MDTV2XzosQ
Green Galaxy Smoke Shop sells tobacco, electronic vapor products, glass pipes, and other alternative smoking accessories from its Manatee Avenue East storefront, according to SmokeShops.com. The retail category has drawn scrutiny in the area before: a previous Green Galaxy location in Bradenton was the site of an attempted robbery in September 2019 that left 23-year-old clerk Mohammed Hamed dead, a case that led grand jurors to indict four men in January 2021, as reported by The Anna Maria Islander. That history underscores the safety concerns that have shadowed smoke shops in the region, even though the August 10 incident under investigation is a nonviolent theft.
What Charges Could the Suspect Face?
Florida law treats retail theft cases differently depending on the value of what's taken. Under Florida Statute Section 812.014, stealing merchandise worth less than $750 is classified as petit theft, carrying up to 60 days in jail for second-degree petit theft under $100, or up to a year in prison for first-degree petit theft valued between $100 and $750, according to ADL Law. If investigators determine the stolen items exceed that threshold, or if the suspect has committed multiple thefts, the case could escalate significantly.
State law also allows police to combine the value of property stolen across multiple retail thefts by the same suspect within a 30-day window when calculating whether the $750 felony grand theft threshold has been met, per the Sammis Law Firm's breakdown of Florida Statute Section 812.015. That aggregation tool has taken on more weight since Governor Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 549 into law in April 2024, strengthening state retail theft penalties and lowering thresholds for felony grand theft charges tied to certain repeat and organized retail offenses starting October 1, 2024, as detailed by Florida Politics.
Bradenton's Broader Property Crime Picture
The Manatee Avenue theft adds to a steady stream of property crime cases the Bradenton Police Department handles each year. The city recorded 920 larceny-theft offenses and 1,073 total property crimes in 2024, a property crime rate of 1,866 per 100,000 residents, according to Florida Department of Law Enforcement data compiled by OpenCrime. That figure came down slightly from 2023, when Bradenton logged 1,084 total property crimes and a rate of 1,883.8 per 100,000 residents, the same data source shows.
The department is led by Police Chief Melanie Bevan, who was appointed in February 2016 after a 29-year career with the St. Petersburg Police Department, according to Fitch & Associates. Like many agencies in the county, Bradenton police routinely lean on social media appeals, surveillance footage releases, and CrimeStoppers partnerships to crack commercial theft cases, as FOX 13 Tampa Bay has reported.
Residents with information can also go through CrimeStoppers of Manatee County, which runs a 24-hour anonymous tip line at 866-634-TIPS and offers cash rewards of up to $3,000 for tips that lead to an arrest, according to WTSP. For now, the man police are calling the Vape Houdini remains unidentified, and detectives are counting on someone in the community to recognize his face.
