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Arrest made in expensive Arizona restaurant liquor theft

By
FOX 10 Phoenix
Crime and Public Safety
Updated May 13, 2026 3:34 PM MST Published May 12, 2026 4:44 PM MST
Matthew Steve article

Matthew Steve (Courtesy: Maricopa County Sheriff's Office)

UPDATE: Tempe Police announced on the afternoon of May 13 that "after investigators reviewed newly received exculpatory evidence," detectives have confirmed that Channel Miller is not the woman suspected in the theft. The original story is below. 

The Brief

    • Tempe Police say 34-year-old Channel Miller and 32-year-old Matthew Steve have turned themselves in a week following the theft of an expensive bottle of liquor from a Tempe restaurant.
    • The liquor in question was worth thousands of dollars.
    • "Investigators believe the couple may be associated with the Romanian Travelers criminal group," police wrote.

TEMPE, Ariz. - Tempe Police officials say they have made an arrest in connection with the theft of an expensive bottle of liquor from a Tempe restaurant.

What we know:

In a statement released on May 12, police identified one of the suspects as o suspects as 34-year-old Channel Miller and 32-year-old Matthew Steve. 

The backstory:

The incident happened on the night of May 4 at the Three Thirty Three Restaurant in Tempe, and surveillance video shows a man and a woman standing by a table when the woman grabs a bottle from a cart, and puts it in her purse.

The bottle of liquor in question is a Louis XIII cognac. A listing on liquor store Total Wine & More's website shows one bottle of the cognac can be purchased for $4,149.99.

"They came in and made a fake reservation under a fake name, fake phone number," said John DeVries with the restaurant. "[They] came in late, sat down, ordered appetizers and starters, and that was it. Started to complain a little bit, and they got up, asked to go smoke and we don't allow smoking outside, so I guess they went out the front. She came back in. He was blocking the view of the manager, and she came in and on camera, we see her putting it in her purse."

Dig deeper:

In their statement, Tempe Police said Miller and Steve turned themselves in on May 12.

"Investigators believe the couple may be associated with the Romanian Travelers criminal group, which is known to target businesses in theft and fraud-related crimes across the country," read a portion of Tempe Police's statement.

What's next:

Tempe Police say both Miller and Steve are facing felony theft charges.

The Source: Information for this article was gathered from a statement released by the Tempe Police Department.

Crime and Public SafetyTempeNews