PRESCOTT, Ariz. — Brick-and-mortar shops mean everything to small business owners.
The same goes for Austin Boyd, the owner of The Lion's Den Tattoo Company in Prescott. The tattoo artist started this business more than two years ago with two other artists working alongside him and gaining a big following in his community.
He went into work Wednesday morning thinking it would be like any other day. As soon as he opened the door, that was not the case.
"I was at a complete loss for words,” Boyd said as he showed 12News what the shop he's worked so hard to build looks like now.
"As a business owner I have put my heart and soul into this shop," he said. "I battled so much adversity to get here.”
Tattoo paint, estimated to cost thousands of dollars, covered nearly every wall in the building. From floor to ceiling, it looked like Jackson Pollock had been there.
Broken bottles were scattered on the floor. Pictures, awards, and sentimental items from his loved ones, all damaged.
“Everything I worked for," Boyd said staring at the painted walls. "Even my first machine that I bought was completely destroyed.”
It wasn't just his equipment that was damaged beyond repair, it was also his employees. In total, Prescott police estimate the damage to be about $100,000. The owner says all the walls have to be repainted, floors have to be torn out and redone and everything has to be sanitized.
To make matters worse, Boyd's insurance won't cover the tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage. So for the foreseeable future, his shop will remain closed until they can raise enough money to start repairs.
"I threw up several times this morning just from nerves and anxiety and the weight of the world is on my shoulders," he said. "I have guys that are displaced."
When walking through the shop, amongst the debris and multi-colored ink on the floor were sets of footprints. Going from one room to another.
Showing his security camera footage from that night, you can see someone in the building with their shirt off. Drinking bottles of alcohol and starting to mess with the tattoo supplies.
Police believe 38-year-old Dylan Wiederholt is the main suspect in the case. The footage shows him there for about an hour before he notices the security camera, flips it the bird, and then knocks it down. Boyd seeing the footage was enraged, but says it went beyond that.
"It was so personal, so violating."
Those same footprints then exited the front door. Wiederholt was arrested shortly after, Prescott police said. The suspect was covered in what appeared to be paint.
Wiederholt is now facing felony charges of burglary and criminal damage.
While Boyd is relieved the suspect has been arrested, all he can think about now is how much work is still ahead.
"I've got so many things that I'm thinking about where it's something I wish on absolutely no business owner," Boyd said.
However, he is thankful for the people of Prescott who have come forward to help and plans to rebuild the shop.
"We will make this place ten times better than it was before and we will not take failure as an option,” he said.
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