Vancouver police ID suspect in taco shop arson

Owners still wondering why their restaurant was targetted

Last Updated: Friday, February 15, 2008 | 6:29 AM PT

CBC News

The owners of a Vancouver Taco Del Mar that was destroyed by an arsonist said they are happy police have identified a suspect and they want to know why they were targeted.

Harjit and Manjeet Nandha say they have no enemies in the Sikh community, owe no money except to the bank, and have no disgruntled staff.
(CBC)

In an exclusive interview with CBC News Thursday, Harjit and Manjeet Nandha said they have no enemies in the Sikh community in the Lower Mainland, owe no money except to the bank, and have no disgruntled staff.

"It's good for us if they [Vancouver police] got a lead," Harjit Nandha said. "This is very good [because] it clears us."

He said police told them Wednesday night that they were under suspicion for commissioning the fire-bombing of their Vancouver establishment, but now "it will clear our name and we are very happy."

Det.-Const. Rodger Shepard, a Vancouver police arson investigator, said on Thursday that they have identified a suspect in the fire and explosion that destroyed the taco restaurant and a Starbucks coffee shop, as well as damaging several other businesses on the city's west side.

Vancouver police arson investigator Det-Const. Rodger Shepard says the arson went terribly wrong for the person who set the fire.
(CBC)

The suspect, who suffered burns to 40 per cent of his body, used two taxi cabs to make his getaway, Shepard said.

Both vehicles were impounded by forensic investigators, along with the digital camera footage from the cabs and surveillance camera footage from shops in the surrounding area, he said.

"We have identified the person we believe is responsible for this incident. However, we aren't releasing this person's name or any other details about that person at this time. The investigation is ongoing," Shepard said.

"We believe that it was an arson, a set fire that went terribly wrong for the person who set the fire."

Crews are repairing the shattered bus shelter near the Taco Del Mar Thursday.
(CBC)

This man is not currently under arrest, he said, but police are not concerned about him being a flight risk at this point.

Manjeet Nandha told CBC News Wednesday she could not think of any reason why someone would set fire to her establishment at 680 West Broadway.

But the Nandhas said on Thursday that it's not the first problem they have had at that location.

There have been three incidents at the Broadway establishment in the past year. Five months ago, someone smashed the glass front door one night but nothing was stolen, they said.

A few months later, a window was broken and the cash register was emptied. Both incidents were reported to the police, they said.

The Nandhas own a second Taco Del Mar franchise and a smoke shop next to each other at a mall in Delta, B.C.
(CBC)

The third incident was when a customer complained about two pills they claimed was in their food, she added.

"The staff who was on duty that day, the police cautioned the staff that there were two pills found in the burritos. And then the health inspector came, she checked all the food and everything was fine."

She said she then called her insurance company and recorded a statement of the incident.

Nothing happened after that and they never heard anything more from police or health authorities, she said.

The Nandhas own another Taco Del Mar franchise and an adjacent smoke shop at a Delta mall. They claim all three of their businesses were making money but admit all were for sale, including the Vancouver Taco Del Mar that was destroyed.

"We just want to take it easy. It's too much for my wife. She's running both taco stores," Harjit Nandha said.