Citrus Heights pizza shop apparently targeted in smash-and-go vandalism

By Mike Hazlip—
Nearly every window of the Mountain Mike’s Pizza restaurant on Sunrise Boulevard was smashed in by a masked suspect armed with a hammer during the early morning hours of Sunday, May 8, in what police say appears to be a “targeted” act of vandalism.

Dalvir Singh Brar, owner of the pizza restaurant at the corner of Antelope Road and Sunrise Boulevard told The Sentinel an individual broke 31 windows and three glass doors along the front, side, and rear of the business. The only panes of glass untouched were the transoms above the doors and a small window next to a door frame.

Surveillance video from cameras inside the restaurant show a vehicle driving near the business. A male individual exits the vehicle with a hammer and strikes each window multiple times, Brar said.

Citrus Heights Police Lt. Chad Morris said officers responded to the location “regarding noises of windows breaking.” The individual could not be identified because he was wearing a hood and mask, he said.

“It is only my speculation, but based on the number of windows broken and the fact that no entry was made into the business, this would appear to be a targeted act,” Morris said.

Brar said nothing was stolen, and it appears no attempt was made to enter the business.

Mountain Mike’s employee Austin Smith agreed the incident was targeted, but said any reason for the attack would be speculation.

“It could be a hate crime,” Smith said. “It (might) just be someone who went crazy over a pizza, I’ve had people threaten my life over a pizza.”

The incident is the second act apparently targeting the pizza restaurant this year, as multiple windows were also broken in a Jan. 30 incident. Surveillance video from that incident shows a white pickup park in front of the business with two male occupants then getting out and breaking several windows at the front of the store, according to Brar.

There is currently no evidence that both incidents were perpetrated by the same person or persons.

The building, part of a shopping center anchored by Walgreens and Corner Pocket Sports Bar, is independently owned, and Brar says there is no private security for the site or external security cameras.

“I don’t know why they target only this place,” Brar said, speculating it could be a hate crime because of his ethnicity. “The last 20 years we run [the business] like a family, we’ve served this community for 20 years.”