San Diego police are investigating a series of break-ins in Tierrasanta as possibly part of a much larger string of burglaries across the county since late September.
The most recent burglary took place at around 3 a.m. on Nov. 25 at 5950 Santo Rd., when a man broke into Sangucheria Peruvian Street Food and Dairy Queen with a sledgehammer, stealing a few hundred dollars from each business.
Police said it was the third incident in Tierrasanta alone in as many weeks, impacting a total of five businesses. But on NBC 7 on Monday morning, San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said the string could be much bigger.
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“He’s up to about 19, 20 cases right now throughout the county,” Wahl said. “We’re taking this very serious. We’re working collaboratively with other agencies to make sure that we’re going to stack every single one of these cases on top of the person or people that might be responsible.”
Police said the description of all the cases – including more than a dozen others across the county since September – are similar. Those incidents occurred as follows:
- 9/29/24 at 915 E. Valley Parkway
- 10/1/24 at 3737 Adams Ave.
- 10/10/24 at 12010 Scripps Summit Drive, Suite B
- 10/10/24 at 12010 Scripps Summit Drive, Suite A
- 10/18/24 at 16480 Paseo Del Sur
- 10/18/24 at 10550 Craftsman Way, Suite 187
- 10/18/24 at 10550 Craftsman Way, Suite 191
- 10/22/24 at 13000 Oak Knoll Dr
- 10/22/24 at 16425 Bernardo Center Dr
- 10/22/24 at 16405 Bernardo Center Dr
- 10/28/24 at 9823 Carroll Canyon Rd., Ste. G
- 10/28/24 at 16477 Bernardo Center Dr.
- 10/31/24 at 1282 Auto Park Way
- 11/4/24 at 5950 Santo Rd.
- 11/19/24 at 11631 Duenda Rd.
- 11/19/24 at 10415 Tierrasanta Blvd
- 11/19/24 at 10425 Tierrasanta Blvd
- 11/25/24 at 5950 Santo Rd.
- 11/25/24 at 5950 Santo Rd.
“Really, we want the business community to be a partner in this with our law enforcement officials,” said Justine Murray of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce.
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She noted the cost of the break-ins in damages, lost revenue and more, were a major cause for concern.
“Support your local businesses,” Murray added. “Go visit those businesses. What do they need from the community? We really want to make sure that we're supporting them.”
“It's kind of crazy, considering it's one guy coming back to the same spot, which is really unusual,” Tierrasanta restaurant owner Sung Choi said. “And it's even more unusual considering that there's not really much to take here, so I'm not really sure why he's targeting particular businesses. It seems like it's at random for the most part, but I guess it's enough for him to come back.”
In his 18 years in Tierrasanta, Choi's restaurant has been burglarized before but not as part of this latest string – though he said he felt like it was only a matter of time.
“It is sad, but, you know, I almost do expect it now because it's happened so many times,” Choi continued, calling it “really unnerving.”
San Diego police asked anyone with information to contact Sgt. Brian French at bfrench@pd.sandiego.gov or call the Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at 888-580-8477.
