A burglar ransacked Pizza Mill on Bender Boulevard at 2 a.m. Tuesday, cutting wires to security cameras to steal $500 in quarters and a bag of potato chips.
The burglar left a trail of potato chips leading away from the scene as well as his burglary tools. Police found a DVR box and printer abandoned in the restaurant parking lot and concluded the burglar couldn’t fit the items through a hole in a fence he went through, so he left them behind.
“He’s not a rocket scientist,” Pizza Mill owner Danaé Spurgeon said.
Spurgeon said the cost of damages is more than the cost of what was stolen from the restaurant and the main crime is vandalism.
“He made a hell of a mess, just trashed the place. I guess because he couldn’t get any more money,” Spurgeon said.
Spurgeon said she had to close the restaurant all day Tuesday and spent the entire day cleaning the place up. The suspect shattered a window, cracked three windows, ransacked the office and pried the arcade machines open.
Spurgeon said the Hobbs Police Department found a footprint at the scene. Although the suspect ruined the security system, police were able to obtain video footage of the criminal.
HPD said they will post the video of the suspect to their Facebook page, Spurgeon said. It’s hard to identify the suspect because he wore a mask during the robbery but he has a distinct manner of walking that might help viewers identify him, she said.
While Spurgeon is replacing all cameras and the wiring to the security system, she’s upgrading the system and said she’s grateful to her staff and customers for being so supportive while she works to pay for damages.
