'Sorry! Need Money For Drugs': Thief Leaves Note Amid Burglary Spree

SAN FERNANDO, CA — The San Fernando Valley has been unsettled by more than a dozen business and residential burglaries in recent days, including a San Fernando business that was hit repeatedly, where a thief left a note apologizing and vowing not to return again.

In one Tarzana neighborhood, a resident set up an elaborate surveillance system that enabled him to shoot the burglars with paintballs.

Desite the video footage of the theifs, fully-loaded paintball guns, beefed up police patrols and undercover detectives working the cases, no arrests have been announced or suspects identified.

It's been an alarming and frustrating experience for homeowners and businesses alike.

"This week has been an emotional rollercoaster," Isaiah Rosario, owner of the San Fernando Coffee Company told the KTLA.

The San Fernando Coffee Company was burglarized on Tuesday. The thief smashed a way into the shop and escaped with the cash register, according to KTLA5. Rosario said although there was only $6 inside the register, it would cost him around $1,000 to replace it.

Next door at Teriyaki Madness, the owners were dealing with an unwelcome brand of madness after being burglarized twice this week. Security cameras from the restaurant captured an intruder slipping through a shattered glass window and heading straight for the cash register.

According to KTLA5, the cameras recorded the male thief writing a note before fleeing the scene. The note read: "Sorry! Need money for drugs, won't come back."

The break-ins were among a dozen burglaries and vandalism, the San Fernando Police Department is investigating recently. In addition to Teriyaki Madness in the 1200 block of Truman Street, other targeted business included, Quieres TacosWay, Aszkenazy Development, Rigo's Tacos, Club de Nutrición Protein Stop and Baskin Robbins, according to sanfernandosun.com.

Authorities are working to determine whether the same person or persons may be involved in the burglary spree.

On Friday, San Fernando police Chief Fabian Valdez said extra officers have been deployed undercover, along with extra patrols, in an effort to solve the crimes. He urged community members to report any suspicious activity.

"First and foremost -- if you see something, say something," Valdez told KTLA. "It is important that the community understand that they are the eyes and ears of the police department."

Anyone with information on the case was urged to call the San Fernando Police Department at 818-898-1267.

In nearby Encino and Tarzana, residents and Los Angeles police have been grappling with an alarminung spike in home burglaries at night.

On Wednesday, a Tarzana resident took matters into his own hands in the 5400 block of Aura Avenue. Julian Harper-Smith set up an elaborate security system with more than three dozen cameras in the area, and used a trailer to monitor the video. So he was ready when he saw three to four masked men jump over a wall onto his neighbor's property. He flashed bright lights at them and fired at them with a paintball gun as they fled to a waiting four-door sedan.

Surveillance footage from the scene captured the suspects running back to their car and driving away as Harper-Smith fired paintball rounds at the vehicle.

"The thievery that goes on around here, it happens all the time," Smith said in remarks broadcast on ABC7. "If you keep your windows locked, your doors locked, they're most likely not gonna go in. Back in the day, they used to break the windows. Unless they see something, they're not breaking your window."

Wednesday's vigilante incident followed a series of recent home burglaries in surrounding areas, including in Woodland Hills and three within 24 hours in Encino.

Patch Staffer Paige Austin and City News Service contributed to this report.