{"id":50448,"date":"2020-11-13T16:34:50","date_gmt":"2020-11-13T23:34:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/durango-yogurt-shop-vandalized-owner-puts-up-sign-threatening-to-shoot\/"},"modified":"2020-11-13T23:34:50","modified_gmt":"2020-11-13T23:34:50","slug":"durango-yogurt-shop-vandalized-owner-puts-up-sign-threatening-to-shoot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/durango-yogurt-shop-vandalized-owner-puts-up-sign-threatening-to-shoot\/","title":{"rendered":"Durango yogurt shop vandalized; owner puts up sign threatening to shoot"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Top
Top That Frozen Yogurt on Main Avenue in downtown Durango has a boarded-up window Wednesday after vandalism occurred earlier this week. The board has spray paint that reads: \u201cBroken by the tolerant left.\u201d<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The situation is growing more tense at a frozen yogurt shop in downtown Durango after the shop\u2019s front window was broken earlier this week, prompting the owner to put up a sign that reads, \u201cI shoot to kill.\u201d<\/p>\n

Durango Police Department Cmdr. Rita Warfield said officers were called to Top That Frozen Yogurt, located in the 600 block of Main Avenue, around 10:40 a.m. Sunday for a report of vandalism.<\/p>\n

Officers arrived to find the window just left of the entrance shattered. Warfield said the window was double-pane, and only the exterior window was broken, not the interior.<\/p>\n

It appears the window was smashed by a Smirnoff Ice bottle, the remnants of which were found with the broken glass. The estimated cost in damages was about $800, Warfield said.<\/p>\n

Top That\u2019s security cameras captured video of two people outside the store the previous night, at around 10:45 p.m., drinking the alcoholic beverage. Once finished, one of the people, out of view, throws the bottle at the window.<\/p>\n

The security cameras, however, do not get a good look at the subjects or show any identifying features. Police had no suspects as of Thursday afternoon, Warfield said.<\/p>\n

The Durango Police Department\u2019s newly installed security cameras in downtown Durango captured a couple images of possible suspects, Warfield said. Anyone who recognizes them is asked to call the department.<\/p>\n

\"Newly
Newly installed security cameras caught two suspects in connection with a broken window at Top That Frozen Yogurt.<\/span>Courtesy of Durango Police Department<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"This
This photo was taken Tuesday night outside Top That Frozen Yogurt in downtown Durango.<\/span>Courtesy of Durango Anti-Racist Action<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Ryan Bartholomew, co-owner of Top That, said he has begun putting up a sign at night that says, \u201cI shoot to kill,\u201d which is taken down in the day for the safety of his employees.<\/p>\n

A video taken by a bystander of Bartholomew putting up the \u201cshoot to kill\u201d sign outside his store, widely circulated on social media, captures him saying to the person recording: \u201cVandalize my s*** again, bullet to the face.\u201d<\/p>\n

The broken front window has been boarded up with a message spray-painted on it: \u201cBroken by the tolerant left.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an interview with The Durango Herald<\/em>, Bartholomew said the signs and the vitriolic rhetoric are a product of months of intense backlash and vandalism from the community, which culminated this week with the broken window.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s standing up for ourselves,\u201d Bartholomew said.<\/p>\n

This is the latest in a string of, at times, volatile incidents involving the dessert shop and its co-owner.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, Top That put up political signs and flags outside the shop for several Republican candidates, including a Trump-Pence sign. The yogurt shop then began offering a 10% discount to customers not wearing masks<\/a>, which went against public health orders aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19.<\/p>\n

\"This
This photo was taken Wednesday morning outside Top That Frozen Yogurt in downtown Durango.<\/span>Courtesy of Durango Anti-Racist Action<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Then, Durango students participating in a climate change march were seen shouting at customers and flipping off people inside the store. It then became the gathering spot for people wearing pro-Trump clothing who taunted marchers celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day.<\/p>\n

Some residents have called for Top That to be shut down given its disregard for the public health order that calls for people to wear masks inside, though no local or state agency has taken the lead on any enforcement.<\/p>\n

According to records with the city of Durango, the city will consider next week enacting a new ordinance that allows it to carry out enforcement measures against businesses that don\u2019t abide by the face-covering requirement.<\/p>\n

Co-owner Elissa Beckstead said the yogurt shop has been subject to months of harassment.<\/p>\n

\"Top
Top That Frozen Yogurt owners say their store has been egged three times.<\/span>Courtesy of Elissa Beckstead<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The store has been egged three times, people have put stickers on the window encouraging people to boycott the business and someone tried to steal a flag. And Beckstead said people are posting fake negative reviews online.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am just highly disappointed in Durango,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Beckstead said she also believes the store is being targeted by the city of Durango.<\/p>\n

Earlier this week, the city\u2019s code enforcement department issued Top That a notice of violation for having too many signs on its front windows.<\/p>\n

Steve Barkley, the city\u2019s code enforcement officer, said signs can cover only 25% of a window. If the shop doesn\u2019t comply, it faces a second warning and then a possible court summons.<\/p>\n

Barkley said the notice of violation was complaint-driven, though he didn\u2019t know the source of the complaint.<\/p>\n

Beckstead said the signs are not coming down, and the store will not require face coverings, saying it is a matter of individual rights. Bartholomew, too, said masks are a political issue.<\/p>\n

Bartholomew, for his part, has been involved in several altercations in recent weeks.<\/p>\n

In August, a 23-year-old woman is accused of punching Bartholomew in the face<\/a> after the woman took issue with people not wearing face coverings at O\u2019Reilly Auto Parts.<\/p>\n

\"Top
Top That Frozen Yogurt on Main Avenue in downtown Durango has put up signs to stand up against recent harassment, store owners say.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The woman, who was ticketed for disorderly conduct, said Bartholomew told her to \u201cchoke yourself with your mask.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bartholomew has also put up signs at the store that read, \u201cKyle Rittenhouse is a HERO,\u201d referring to the 17-year-old accused of shooting and killing three protesters in Wisconsin, and \u201cWhite Lives Matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

And, videos of Bartholomew confronting people involved with the local Black Lives Matter movement have been widely circulated on social media in recent days.<\/p>\n

In one video, Bartholomew is seen idling in his truck at 12th Street and Main Avenue, adjacent to the Black Lives Matter memorial on the edge of Buckley Park, yelling \u201cF*** Black Lives Matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bartholomew maintains his actions are a reaction to months of being targeted and harassed, and the videos show only one side of the story.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s disgusting the way we\u2019ve been treated,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m not the type to back down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bartholomew and Beckstead were unsure of how to de-escalate the situation, other than to say that both sides need to start showing respect for the other and find common ground.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, the yogurt shop turned political lightning rod will continue on, Beckstead said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know we lost some customers,\u201d Beckstead said. \u201cBut we\u2019ve gained a lot from our neighboring cities like Farmington and Cortez and everywhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n

jromeo@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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