San Gabriel Valley businesses are in trouble over the weekend after vandals broke into their parking lots and played with cars for a while, causing thousands of dollars in damage.
The break-in at Pink Sponge Home Cleaning Services in Glendora occurred in the early morning hours of April 20th.
Surveillance footage from the rooftop parking lot showed at least three teens wreaking havoc. One man blew out a fire extinguisher while the other two tampered with the bonnet of one of the company's 25 bright pink Volkswagen Bugs.
“They turned on every headlight they could,” Jennifer Ahlgrim of Pink Sponge Cleaning told KTLA's Sandra Mitchell. “They pulled the windows down so hard that they broke the regulator. They carved the hood of the car.”
The teens went on a rampage, causing about $25,000 in damage and causing havoc.
“They broke open the door and threw the product over the side of the building. It was disgusting,” Algrim said.
The company, which prides itself on serving local communities, said 18 vehicles were severely damaged.
“I couldn't understand how a company that was trying to do good could do something like this,” Algrim said. “That doesn't make sense.”
One of the teens, a 15-year-old from La Verne, is currently in custody on suspicion of trespassing. Police said gang symbols carved into some of the cars led them to the juvenile suspects.
Authorities added that they were in possession of the 15-year-old boy's cell phone and wanted to use it to find the two teenage girls involved in the break-in.
“We built everything from scratch, so it was really discouraging to see our efforts go undone,” Ahlgrim explained. “Our Pink Sponge team is strong, but it was very disappointing.”
The company's co-founder told KTLA that his insurance claim was denied due to previous vandalism.
A GoFundMe has been organized to help the business with repair costs and the loss of many supplies.
