A local business owner in the area of Compton, California, says that after seeing his store be looted by a group of 100 people and receiving damage from a car driving through the side, he suffered $70,000 in damages. That is a huge total that adds to an already long bill of damages suffered by California citizens at the hands of crime in recent years.
Ruben Ramirez Jr., a son of Mexican immigrants who is also the owner of the store, spoke to Fox News about the massive financial loss that he sustained after a swarm of looters rampaged through his business. Ramirez is the owner of Ruben’s Bakery & Mexican Food, and, along with his family, he talked about the ways that he is trying to rebuild after the disaster.
The onslaught of looters was allowed to enter through a gaping hole in the front door, made by the driver of a KIA, who repeatedly slammed the car into the exterior of the building until it gave way, allowing the mass of people to flow into the building freely. According to police, they stole meat scales, groceries, and lottery tickets, among other items.
Ramirez, in his interview with Fox News, was taken aback by the brazen group of criminals. He said, “This has never happened to us before. We’ve seen ‘street takeovers’ in the area, but it’s never anything like this.” To Ramirez, this was an outcome that he never thought he would have to prepare for.
When asked about arrests, Ramirez noted that he was unable to identify any of the looters during the time he spent reviewing security footage. Ramirez, however, is not too hung up on catching the criminals that looted his store, but rather rebuilding and returning to business as quickly as possible to support his family.
He said, “I do hope they see justice, but more than anything, I just want my business back. I want to be able to serve the community how we’ve been doing it for all these years and make everybody happy with our food. It’s been — it’s going to be a little devastating. We don’t know the effects of how long it’s going to take us to recover completely.”
Ramirez, however, is not hopeful that the vagrants will be caught. Following a similar event in the past, one of his neighbors lost their livelihood to the mob and was never able to recover what was taken. So, in Ramirez’s eyes, the only option is to rebuild and continue looking toward the future.
He explained, “I had a neighbor in the street takeovers around here who lost his work truck, so now he can’t work. He lost his livelihood because of that. So, you know, I hate to say it, but nobody gets punished for anything.” Watch him here:
Ramirez is facing the stark reality of life in high-crime areas. The looters and thieves that torment store owners degrade their own communities and tear down the only establishments that are in place to directly serve the neighborhood.
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