As if it were an epidemic, assaults, robberies and armed robberies against taco vendors have increased exponentially, mainly in South Los Angeles and an activist has created a non-profit organization to support them and , through their friends, a private security company will offer them free protection.
For the second time, Oscar Lozano’s business “Tacos Oscarin” was visited by lovers of foreign goods.
On the night of June 14, two robbers, described as Hispanic, demanded money and shot as they fled. No one was hurt.
“They came and pointed the gun at me. What else could I do?” Oscar said.
The robbers wore ski masks and only stole $50.
“Everything happened very quickly,” Oscar recounted. “I’m not going to lose my life for some money.”
Although, in the Southeast Division of the Los Angeles Police Department, the number of robberies reported in 2021 was 252; 323 in 2022 and 258 so far in 2023, the number of aggravated assaults rose from 694 in 2021 to 814 in 2022. So far this year, 684 have been committed, including robberies against street vendors.
Under California law, assault is defined as an unlawful attempt to touch or injure another person. When the assault is done with the intent to commit serious bodily harm, is done with a deadly weapon, or is done without regard to the life of the victim, it may be considered aggravated assault.
“Every time my children go on sale, I bless them and entrust them to God,” said Pilar Lozano, Oscar’s mother. “You know they’ve left the house, but you never know if they’re going to come back.”
The first robbery of Oscar and his co-worker, Marbella Martínez, occurred in the same place located in the 400 block of Manchester Avenue, between San Pedro and Avalon Boulevard.
In the first assault, the African-American criminals took a gold chain and cash from him.
“I tell him that he no longer carries a dollar in cash, and that he asks for all payments through Zelle,” added Mrs. Pilar Lozano, who reported that they have been at the place of sale for almost six years and it had not happened before. No incident of violence.
Frank Preciado, sergeant of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) told La Opinión that taco vendors or street vendors must report each criminal act of which they are victims.
“This problem is big because vendors work with cash and not cards, so criminals or suspects know it and it seems easy for them to rob them because they don’t have video cameras,” said Preciado.
But, if a robber is caught committing robbery with a weapon, the crime always becomes a felony and a person, if convicted, can be sentenced to up to three years in state prison and a $10,000 fine, maximum if anyone is injured.
Preciado indicated that the job of the LAPD will be to deploy more officers in the areas with the highest concentration of robberies to protect people.
“It is horrible what is happening to these people who work honestly,” he added. “They just want to sustain their life.”
Taquero about to die
Not far from where Oscar Lozano was robbed, 25-year-old Mexican José González remembers how he saved his life after two African-American criminals threatened a co-worker with a gun and he, one of them hit him in the the head with the grip of the weapon.
“The two guys got out of a car and suddenly grabbed my friend by the neck; they asked him for money and began to beat him,” recalled José, an employee of Tacos Los Chemas. “When they hit me with the gun to the head, I was blinded for a few moments.”
The thugs demanded that he give them all the money from the sale. Between $700 and $1,000 that night, apart from the $80 he had in his pocket.
José said he was saved from dying “by the grace of God.”
At present, this young man born in San Julián, Jalisco, continues to work normally preparing tacos, burritos, tortas, and other Mexican snacks.
“There is nothing scary; you have to come to work every day and you just have to entrust yourself to God ”, he stressed.
And, to be safer in the “lunch box”, Saul Martínez, the owner of Tacos Los Chemas has installed security cameras outside and inside the truck.
However, those who have not taken better security measures are the taqueros Alberto Valdivia, from Michoacán or Luis Castro, from Colima, who handle cash in full view of all diners.
“I always watch my back to know who is behind the booth,” said Luis, who has set up shop on 103rd Street, almost on the corner with Avalon Boulevard, in south-central Los Angeles.
Al Labrada, deputy head of the LAPD, told La Opinión that reporting each incident of robbery will serve as a deterrent to criminals.
“This helps us a lot because there is no private security for the vendors,” he said. “That way we will have more reports to investigate each case”
free protection
Since 2017, Edin Alex Enamorado has personally documented an average of 150 attacks on street vendors in Los Angeles and has helped approximately 2,000 of them, who, through their work, earn an honest living on the streets.
To increase support for these street vendors, Edin has formed a non-profit organization called UVA, or Union of Street Vendors.
“We did it to help all those who have robbed and threatened them, in addition to preventing other attacks,” he told La Opinión.
Through UVA, vendors could be less vulnerable to theft, but also, as a team with his friend Nando González, owner of González Security Force, a private security company, and his employees have pledged to safeguard the integrity of of the sellers.
“People need protection and there are good-hearted people who want to collaborate,” said the activist born in Villanueva, Guatemala.
For the past six years, out of his own pocket, Edin has provided pepper spray canisters to hundreds of vendors selling popsicles, corn, or food, so that they can somehow defend themselves against thieves. Each bottle costs $11 on average, although sometimes you buy them online and they cost less.
Edin’s motivation to try to protect street vendors was born when his own father, a humble worker, was robbed at gunpoint.
Also, she was motivated to become an activist by sheriff’s deputies’ derogatory treatment of street vendors in the city of Cudahy, where she has lived her entire life.
“They were intimidated with arrest if they did not leave the place where they were selling,” he said. “The problem was that they never left them alone.”
OUTSTANDING
- Practical advice for taco makers:
- Purchase a surveillance camera kit. It can help identify details of robbery suspects and the getaway cars.
- Don’t try to fight the suspects
- Hand over the money if you have it, in order to avoid further damage or even a bullet
- Without any fear, report every violent act to the police.