The owner and operator of Pioneer Feed and Pet Supply, Richard Mason, left, speaks with a customer at his store on Aug. 22.

ELVERTA, CA (MPG) - A lot at the corner of Rio Linda Boulevard and Delano Street in Elverta containing multiple businesses was vandalized on July 31, leaving businesses without power for hours as well as no phones or internet for a few days due to cut power lines.

According to Rio Linda residents on Facebook and Nextdoor, a Subway restaurant and the Riego Market were also vandalized in the weeks prior to the Aug. 15 incident. 

A separate incident in Rio Linda on Aug. 15 resulted in at least six businesses being vandalized with the suspect, Brendan Wyatt Williams, 23, of Rio Linda, arrested inside of Rio Java Coffee House.

Williams was charged with felony burglary and vandalism for the string of burglaries in Rio Linda at the Mar Val Plaza, which includes The Grotto, Rio Java Coffee House, Bowinkles and others.  Williams was released from custody on Aug. 22 and is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 29, after press time, according to Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office records. 

The front of Pioneer Feed and Pet Supply is pictured, located at 7831 Rio Linda Blvd. in Elverta. 

“The businesses around here are pretty resilient,” Alisa Treadway, a groomer at Sudsy Paws, said. “It’s not the worst that we’ve been through and we all kind of just stick together. We’ll bounce back from anything.” 

In total, The Tack Shack, Sudsy Paws, Pioneer Feed and Pet Supply, Elverta Market and the Rio Linda Elverta Food Closet were affected by the cut power lines on July 31.

Richard Mason, the owner and operator of Pioneer Feed and Pet Supply said he came into the store on the morning of Aug. 1, flipped on the lights and nothing happened. Mason said that the breaker boxes for the building’s power were cut and tossed in a field behind the business lot. Food Closet representatives found the breaker boxes, Mason said, and he used his general contractor skills to get the property’s power back on. 

Mason said the acts of one small group led to compounding effects for the businesses involved. 

Groomer Alisa Treadway, left, and Sudsy Paws owner Kathy Davis work at their pet grooming center in Elverta on Aug. 22.

Treadway said she started calling customers on the morning of Aug. 1 to inform them that the business had been vandalized, attempting to reschedule clients for a future appointment.  Mason had the power back on by noon, Treadway said, but the food closet, feed store and market had gone without power to their refrigerators for several hours, causing a minor setback in service. 

Sudsy Paws owner Kathy Davis, in business for 18 years, said that they “are quite lucky” and hasn’t had too many issues with vandalism or burglaries since installing iron bars at the front of her establishment several years ago. 

Mason said that walking in one morning to find that his business had been vandalized was “interesting,” to say the least. There are only a few sheriff’s deputies in town and the community “needs to start stepping up to take care of these issues,” because it’s “a lot to put on law enforcement.”

Community members don’t need to physically get involved, Mason said. Taking notes, pictures and keeping neighbors informed are all ways that community members can help keep their neighborhood more tightly knit. 

“It’s a community effort,” Mason said. “Not just one person.”