Burglary steams House of Rice owners

She and her husband, the owners of longtime downtown business the House of Rice, scrambled out of bed, and 10 minutes later they were standing on the sidewalk, looking at their shattered windows. Several heavy stone Buddha statues were flipped over, a table laden with delicate Asian wares was disheveled, and several long martial-arts swords and throwing stars were missing.

Chico police arrested three teenagers—two 16-year-olds and one 17-year-old—for the burglary. After the store’s full-length window was broken, allegedly the boys quickly stole the swords and throwing stars, but they didn’t get far after that. Someone apparently saw the breaking of the windows and police arrived within minutues.

When located, the boys allegedly had possession of the swords and throwing stars, according to Chico Police Sgt. James Fryar, who said the trio hid behind a Salem Street business.

The boys, whose names are not being released because they are minors, were arrested for burglary and released to the custody of their parents.

Although it took just minutes to create, the damage done to Park’s business took several hours to clean up.

“We stayed here for hours cleaning up all the glass,” Park said. “It was everywhere.”

The business opened at its regular time Sunday morning, and by Sunday afternoon the glass broken in the robbery was replaced and business was back to normal, Park said.

"You can hardly tell it was broken," Park said. "We have to carry on."