APD Charges a Suspect in Six East Austin Commercial Burglaries, Including the Cenote Café Break-In

An East Austin café break-in in July has led police to a suspect they say is responsible for a run of commercial burglaries across the east side since May. The Austin Police Department said Friday that 56-year-old Larry Ray Vasquez has been charged with Burglary of a Building, a state jail felony, in the July 7 burglary of The Cenote Café at 1405 E. 7th Street — and with burglary in five more cases besides.

Officers who answered the July call found forced entry, a shattered glass door and a safe that had been forced open, police said; surveillance footage showed a suspect entering the business and leaving through the rear door, and cash was stolen. A detective with the Commercial Burglary & Metal Theft Unit took over the case, obtained additional interior surveillance footage from the business owner, and recognized the suspect from previous commercial burglary investigations as Vasquez, according to the department.

On September 18, an arrest warrant was issued for Vasquez. He was already in the Travis County Jail on an unrelated burglary charge and was served with the new charge while in custody, police said. Detectives contacted the café's owner to tell her the case had been solved and an arrest made.

The department's list runs wider than one café. Since May 2026, APD's Commercial Burglary Unit has identified Vasquez as a suspect in multiple commercial burglaries throughout Austin and charged him with Burglary of a Non-Residence in six cases: at 2012 E. 7th Street, 1202 E. 6th Street, 1312 E. Cesar Chavez Street Suites A and B, 1802 E. 6th Street, and The Cenote Café on E. 7th. APD said it remains committed to investigating property crimes, and encouraged business owners to report suspicious activity and provide surveillance footage that may assist investigations — the footage, in this case, is what police say identified the suspect.