Multiple Old Town businesses deal with vandals

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Multiple Old Town businesses are cleaning up after vandals smashed windows.

Surveillance video shows a man smashing the door window of Happy Hiker, taking a cash drawer with $2 in it, and leaving within 24 seconds.

“This time, it’s just, you know, here we go again,” said Nathan Cowan, the Happy Hiker manager.

Back in August, the same business was hit. A man busted the door open and got away with a few hundred dollars. This time, there was more damage.

Multiple businesses had their windows smashed, and one even had a door ripped off. Not much was stolen, but it has the community concerned.

“I’d say what we’d love from the city is… and APD specifically… is just to work with us,” said J.J. Mancini, the president of the recently-created Historic Old Town Association. “Potentially get more patrols within the area.

After a great holiday season and new businesses moving in, he hopes to keep up the momentum.

“But, I also don’t want to say that they haven’t been doing things,” Mancini said. “They have and we thank the officers and we thank APD for what they’ve done so far. But, of course, we’ll take more.”

Cowan said he’s worried the same man will come back and break the window again.

“So do I put bars up? Do I? You know, I don’t want Old Town covered in bars, that’s not the way to go,” he said.

APD does have a camera at the Old Town Plaza. Officials said it is working, even though it was also vandalized.

According to APD, they got four vandalism calls, one burglary at Happy Hiker, but no suspect information because he was wearing a mask.