ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – An Albuquerque man is accused of going on a crime spree with a hammer Sunday morning, damaging cars, breaking into a McDonald’s and terrorizing its workers.
Early Sunday, APD said Anthony Hernandez broke through a window at the McDonald’s near Carlisle and Menaul. Several of the store’s windows were boarded up Sunday afternoon, and half of the fast-food restaurant was closed off.
Witnesses told police he was chasing employees through the business with the hammer, but employees were able to hide in the kitchen and behind the counter, uninjured. People in the area said they weren’t surprised by the crime.
“I’m not surprised, people break-in, it’s Albuquerque. I live right around the corner, [there’s] always stuff going down. Panhandlers, drunks, that kind of thing,” Kristi Lovato said.
An officer later found Hernandez walking nearby, where he was arrested and admitted to using meth. A witness also told police Hernandez had struck his car earlier with the hammer.
“The safety of our guests and crew is our top priority,” McDonald’s owner and operator Steve Aragon said in a statement. “We are cooperating with law enforcement.”
Online court records showed he had a prior charge for vehicle theft. That case was later dropped because the state never transported him from the Department of Corrections to his status hearing.
Hernandez now faces three counts of aggravated assault and three for criminal damage to property.
In a statement, the owner and operator of the McDonald’s, Steve Aragon, said: “The safety of our guests and crew is our top priority. We are cooperating with law enforcement.”
