Burglar leaves bizarre apology note at San Fernando business hit in crime spree

SAN FERNANDO (KABC) -- A suspect left behind a bizarre note during a burglary at a San Fernando business that police say was one of several businesses targeted in a recent crime spree.

Police say over the course of two days, ten businesses have been burglarized and vandalized in the area around the Maclay corridor and San Fernando Mall.

Three businesses were burglarized, six were vandalized and another was targeted in a grand theft, according to the San Fernando Police Department.

Surveillance video shows someone breaking into Teriyaki Madness and stealing money. In that case, the thief left a Post-it note apologizing and saying he needed the money for drugs and won't come back again.

Police are using the video and note as evidence.

Surveillance video from Protein Stop, located just a few minutes from Teriyaki Madness, appears to show the same man rifling through a cash register after breaking in. The owner says at least $500 was stolen.

"This person appears to have done this before," said San Fernando Police Chief Fabian Valdez. "It looks like they were concealing their fingerprints and being very careful on... what they touched."

The other impacted businesses include a nutrition restaurant, a coffee shop, two taco restaurants, two ice cream shops and a property management office.

Azkenazy Development has six tenants that were targeted.

"Insurance doesn't cover a lot of it. A deductible is $5,000 and you know how insurance rates are going up. People are afraid to make insurance claims, and it's not OK that this is happening to our small businesses," said Adrianna Gomez.

Detectives say they are working possible leads in the crime spree but no arrests have been made.

Correction: An earlier version of this report stated the note was left at a different business, but it was actually left at Teriyaki Madness.