ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Local restaurant owners are frustrated after more than three decades of serving the community, a crime is causing them to consider closing their doors. Restaurant personnel alleged three homeless people attacked the store owner and his employees on Friday.
The owners of Yeller Sub on Montgomery said the three people became aggressive after they were asked to leave the property just before 4 p.m. Friday afternoon.
The owners, Mark and Rosie Roerick, said two men and a woman were sitting outside at one of their tables for a few hours. When Mark Roerick asked them to leave, they said one of the men refused and told Roerick he “wouldn’t leave without his money.”
Roerick, once again, demanded the three get moving. The argument escalated, and Roerick said the three people began threatening him.
In a security video, employees are seen rushing out to help the owner. The altercation exploded when one of the homeless men swung and hit an employee.
“Well, once the boys came out, the girl took one of the chairs and actually flung it at one of my employees. So, after that, kind of everything just kind of erupted,” said Rosie Roerick, “One of our guys was hit in the face. One of our guys was pepper sprayed really bad. His eye is still swollen today.”
The Roericks explained the violence and crime along Montgomery has gotten worse in recent months. Two weeks ago, police raided the apartment complex right across the street for suspected retail crime theft.
The owners of Yeller Sub said they have also been robbed before, but nothing quite like this has ever happened. The Roericks did call police, however, the three people left the scene before officers arrived. A police report has been filed.
