CITRUS HEIGHTS — Citrus Heights police finally have a break in a series of smashed windows after months of torment for business owners added up to $500,000 in damage.
The cleanup at Fukumi Japanese Noodle House has been tough and tedious as workers seal all the new windows and pick up every shard of broken glass.
“It really saddens me that it just keeps on happening,” said waitress Jenna Morrissey. “We actually had a few customers saying whoever did this can go to hell.”
They’re not the only ones frustrated.
CBS13 reported when vandals targeted Mountain Mike’s Pizza less than a half-mile away, also breaking all the windows.
Citrus Heights police announced Philip Archuleta as a person of interest Friday. Archuleta owns a Roseville glass repair company, Brothers Doors, and Glass.
It’s the same company that Fukumi hired to fix their windows after they were smashed.
“It’s just the betrayal, the betrayal of trusting someone to do work on our restaurant,” said Morrissey.
Ed Zargarian is the General Manager with A-Tek Glass Center of Sacramento, the company that’s now replacing the windows at Fukumi.
“It’s just bad, just bad business because I can’t imagine people making business on the suffering of other people,” said Zargarian.
Zargarian has done local glass repair for 30 years. He’s spent the last two weeks rushing to piece things back together in time for the dinner rush Friday.
“And not just once or twice, but three times according to the business owner. That’s pretty low,” said Zargarian.
“Greedy, just greedy. I mean, they’re just greedy for money,” said Morrissey. “I don’t know why someone would do that except for more money and thinking that we would hire them again.”
Detectives from the Citrus Heights and the Sacramento Police Department served simultaneous search warrants on Archuleta.
He was then arrested for unrelated crimes, including possession of a stolen assault weapon and child endangerment.
Citrus Heights Police say they anticipate additional charges related to the vandalism series and say Archuleta was running his business without a contractor’s license.
Marlee Ginter