The man suspected of vandalizing the roof of the Aberdeen Safeway July 17, resulting in a gas leak and more than $100,000 in damage has been charged with two felony counts in Grays Harbor County Superior Court.
John Reed Czupofski, 37, has been charged with criminal sabotage and first degree malicious mischief, according to County ProsecutorKatie Svoboda.
According to Superior Court charging papers, Czupofski became angry after finding his apartment door locked after doing meth shortly after his release from the Aberdeen Jail, prompting him to climb to the roof of the Safeway and cause the damage.
According to court documents, an employee noticed the store temperature started rising around 1 a.m. July 17, and employees went to the roof to see if there had been any damage done. They were met with a male voice yelling for them to get off the roof, which they did. Noticing a strong smell of natural gas, the police and fire department were dispatched around 5 a.m.
An officer noted a gutter hanging askew on the northwest corner of the building, and a satellite dish that had been pushed off its mounting onto the awning at the front of the store. It appeared every vent, fan and electrical box had been damaged in some way. An officer found a pair of black athletic shorts, and a contractor recovered an orange T-shirt that had been twisted up into one of the fans, causing the fan motor to burn up and blow out a 250-amp circuit breaker, according to charging papers.
Store manager Patti Kennedy believed the total cost of the damage, including property damage, lost revenue, lost stock and employee costs totaled between $100,000-$200,000.
Czupofski had been known by Aberdeen Police to damage the roofs of other area businesses, according to court documents. A local hotel provided officers with surveillance footage showing Czupofski walking by the night of the incident wearing shorts and a T-shirt that matched the clothing found on the Safeway roof.
Czupofski has yet to appear in Superior Court as he has been held in the Aberdeen City Jail since his arrest July 17 to face a number of misdemeanor charges.
His arrest July 17 included misdemeanor charges of second degree criminal trespass and resisting arrest. Over the past several years he has been cited several times on those charges, and also for theft and malicious mischief, among others.
Superior Court won’t get to officially arraign Czupofski until the Municipal Court cases are resolved and he will remain in the Aberdeen Jail until released to face the county prosecutor’s felony charges.
Criminal sabotage, as defined by the Revised Code of Washington, is the destruction of property associated with any business or commercial enterprise that could result in loss of that business’s operational ability. First degree malicious mischief is defined as the intentional physical destruction of property exceeding $5,000. Both are class B felonies by state law, carrying state prison time of up to 10 years and fines of up to $20,000.
