A military family is asking for the public’s help in finding and identifying the vandals who broke into their home last week in the Oak park neighborhood, causing thousands of dollars in property damages.
“Every single window is broken. The refrigerator here, they pulled out the freezer door, the oven range, the microwave. The bathroom toilets are smashed in. There’s, you know, throw up in the sink. You know, the floors were covered in beer and maybe urine. There’s blood on the cabinets. The ceiling fans were damaged,” Lt. Troy Esaki, who served in the Navy as a submariner, told NBC 7.
Esaki and his wife are still processing what took place at their home last Friday.
“We’re really heartbroken,” Esaki said. “It’s been a mixture of emotions, frustration and anguish. A lot of it has been heartache. To think about all the time and effort that we’ve devoted into the house.”
He said the home was ready for new tenants to move in.
“Right now, we’re looking at $250,000 dollars’ worth in damages between all of the appliances, the walls, the glass, the yardwork for pulling out the glass, and possibly plumbing repairs because there’s glass and porcelain in the plumbing system now,” Esaki said.
Neighbors told him they heard loud music coming from his house that night, but they thought new renters had moved in and were having a party, according to Esaki.
On Saturday morning, Esaki said he and his wife received a call from their property manager, who told them someone had broken into their home. They didn’t expect to see the destruction they found.
Friends shared a video with Esaki that they saw on social media, saying it showed multiple people partying and destroying his home.
“I would just let them know that what they did hurt,” Esaki said. “There is someone on the other side of the actions they’re taking, and someone is paying the consequences emotionally and financially, and it’s just not easy.”
He hopes everyone involved comes forward.
“We want to ask them to come forward and take accountability for coming through our property, breaking in, trespassing and vandalizing it, causing all of this loss and damages that we’re enduring,” Esaki said.
Meanwhile, they will pick up the pieces and get the house ready for the next tenants to move in.
Esaki is asking anyone with information to please contact the San Diego Police Department and Crime Stoppers.