Captured On Camera: Popular South LA food truck robbed at gunpoint
Tacos Arandas, a popular South Los Angeles food truck that sits on Florence Avenue and has served the neighborhood for two decades, was robbed Saturday night at gunpoint by a longtime customer.
In Spanish, David Jimenez detailed what happened, how he was ordered to have the cash.
"The armed man came and took away all of the money from the night," he said, as a coworker translated.
The entire incident was also captured on security video.
"The man hit him in the back of the head and that's when he went to Pablo," his coworker translated.
In the video, the thief can be seen approaching the truth with a gun in his left hand, demanding the cash.
"The thief, he's been a client of ours for years and David recognized him. So, when he told him, 'Hey, I know you,' that's when the guy smacked him in the head," Bryan Ortega said.
Ortega, who owns the food truck, said that's when Pablo Briones came to help.
Briones said at first he was scared because the man had a gun, but he walked up anyway, to defend his friend, but ended up getting robbed as well.
"We work as a family. We stay united and help each other out," Briones said.
As the suspect starts to back up, he fired the gun and shot Briones in the foot. Fragments of the bullet are still in his leg. When he went to the hospital, the doctor said it would actually be better for them to remain inside for the healing process.
The incident went down Saturday night, but Jimenez and Briones are back on the job, in a cast, using a walker and still serving the community.
"He's a little scared from the trauma of the incident that happened, but he's feeling better and going to keep moving forward," Briones said in Spanish.
The vendors hope that the crime brings attention to the neighborhood and that police patrols follow, so that they can all feel safe while simply doing their jobs.
"All of these people are working for their families. So, it can happen to anyone," Ortega said.
The family that owns Tacos Arandas said another food vendor just a few blocks away was robbed at gunpoint by the same man.
Police did tell CBSLA that they have arrested a person in connection to the robbery, and that he leaves a few blocks from where the incident occurred.
