ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A burglar made off with thousands of dollars in valuable antiques from a St. Petersburg store.

Andrea Legrant, the owner of Andrea and Friends Antiques Mall, said he knew exactly what to grab without getting detected, which leads her to believe this wasn’t his first time pulling off something like this.

She’s hoping by sharing her story and showing the eyebrow-raising surveillance video, this will be his last time.

“He came in around 3:30 (p.m.). We have everything on video. Every single thing he did was on video,” Legrant said. It happened on Nov. 11, according to St. Pete Police.

She explained how the thief pulled off hiding under a table for hours, waiting for the store to close.

“See this table right here with the drop leaf all the way to the floor? He actually hid in there for two hours,” she said. “He’s in his 70s and he stayed there and then when the girls left, they went out the front door and locked it, and he came out and he started crawling to avoid the motion detectors.”

That's when the real action started, according to the video.

“He took a lot of things," Legrant said. "The fountain pens were over there. This was full of silver, and he left the things that were not solid silver, that maybe were silver plated, and he knew what he was doing. He did.”

Legrant said the thief made off with about $18,000-worth of goods, along with their sense of safety.

“We’ve been here, we’re starting our 15th year in February," Legrant said. "We’ve had a few incidents, but this one was creepy. Us watching him on the video, us watching him standing right there taking plates out and everything. It was a little unnerving."

Just like in the movies, Legrant believes the thief may have taken the stolen antiques to a fence in exchange for cash, and she’s hoping the next small space he’s sitting in for hours, is behind bars.

“Just that he’ll be caught and can’t do it to anyone else would be good enough,” she said.

Legrant said the business has improved its system, adding a security system with inferred technology. She said she learned the culprit was last spotted heading south on a city bus, so if you recognize him, contact police.

The person sought is described as 55 to 65 years old, about 6 feet tall, heavy build, bow-legged, and walks with a distinctive waddle. He was last seen wearing black-rimmed glasses, a black baseball cap with the USF Bulls logo, tan cargo shorts, a white and gray plaid short-sleeve shirt, gray New Balance sneakers, and white socks.

Anyone with information is asked to call the St. Petersburg Police Department at 727-893-7780.