ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The Albuquerque Police Department arrested 40-year-old Dominic Ayton, accused of vandalizing multiple businesses in Old Town Albuquerque and the Albuquerque museum. Old Town was left picking up the pieces after multiple shops were vandalized Tuesday morning. Damage included broken windows and doors and a business being set on fire. “Hopefully it’s not a total loss,” said Outpost 1706 owner, Pete Kassetas.
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It’s been a hectic 24 hours for business owners in Old Town Albuquerque. “The night prior, we had someone try to break into a winery in Plaza Don Luis and do some damage. Then you fast forward to early this morning about 5:30,” said Kassetas.
Tuesday morning, a jogger reported a fire at the Shop at Old Town in Plaza Hacienda. Doors broken in and items were burnt to a crisp.
“It’s one of the higher profile impacting incidents we’ve had here,” said Kassetas.
The owner of the shop didn’t want to talk on camera but told News 13, “This is a sad day for all of Old Town especially as the area preps for one of their busiest times of the year.”
It’s a sentiment nearby business owner, Pete Kassetas echoes. “It’s sad because it’s leading up to Balloon Fiesta one of our biggest times here in Old Town right? And I can’t imagine the business I run, Outpost, if I couldn’t open during Balloon Fiesta, it would be terrible that makes or breaks a lot of us,” said Kassetas.
Just around the corner, Old Town Café also fell victim. Their front windows were shattered and the vandal left behind this chair sticking out of the damage.
“You come by here during the day and it’s a great peaceful time for the most part. We have our pocket problems in areas but at night, when the businesses close, it takes on a whole new kind of atmosphere,” said Kassetas.
Kassetas says more needs to be done to prevent damage like this from continuing. “We can’t afford as merchants a full-time presence of security so we get a great response, but it’s always after the fact,” said Kassetas. “During Balloon Fiesta, we have tens of thousands of people that come through here. They don’t need to see crime scene tape and boarded up windows that’s for sure.”
The Albuquerque Museum was also hit by the vandal cracking a few of their windows, the museum caught video of the suspect. APD says Ayon was located at Tiguex Park, just across the street from the museum, and taken into custody. APD is working with Albuquerque Fire Rescue to determine if Ayon is also responsible for the fire.
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