NBC 7 San Diego

A La Mesa shop owner – already the subject of a sexual harassment investigation – was arrested on battery and vandalism charges Tuesday following a physical altercation between him and local media members recorded on video.

Peter Carzis, 76, was being investigated for reports of alleged harassment on female customers when members of the news media appeared at his shop, Peter’s Men’s Apparel on La Mesa Boulevard, Monday afternoon.

We live in La Mesa, and I have several jackets I’ve bought at this store. I’ve seen reports about Carzis on the La Mesa Happenings Facebook group over the past few months. He was always fine with me when I went in.

Last week I saw a video on the group of someone who appeared to be Carzis, engaging in lewd behavior with a woman while seated on a chair on the sidewalk.

Monday I was meeting a friend for for lunch in La Mesa Village and arrived early, so I decided to walk past Carzis’s shop to see what there was to see. There were two media trucks on the sidewalk; they looked like they were breaking down and getting ready to go.

The La Mesa Happenings group has more than 1,500 new signups since this story broke two days ago.

UPDATE: The store may have had different ownership when I shopped there.