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Owner of looted LA bakery says street takeovers only getting worse: ‘Lack of political will to enforce laws’

January 7, 2024 | | Print Article

The owner of a California bakery that was looted by a mob of young thugs last week is now speaking out about the rampant lawlessness.

As previously reported, roughly 100 young thugs broke into Ruben’s Bakery & Mexican Food in Compton during a street takeover last Tuesday and proceeded to raid it, causing tens of thousands of dollars in damage.

In a press release published after the raid, Reuben Ramirez Jr., whose family owns the bakery, blamed the city and county’s lack of proper law enforcement for the incident.

“We must state the facts – those individuals who looted our store and those who have participated in the ‘smash and grab’ robberies throughout Los Angeles County do so knowing that there is a lack of political will to enforce the laws that exist to protect ALL families and ALL businesses,” he said.

“We need those responsible for enforcing our laws to do their job and make sure criminals know that our laws need to be respected and if you break the law, you will be held accountable and you will pay the consequences. No business, regardless of what community they are in, should ever have to go through what we’re going through now. Enough is enough,” he added.

Later speaking on Fox News’ “America Reports,” Ramirez Jr. said he and his parents were heartbroken over the damage sustained to their nearly 50-years-old business.

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“At first, like anybody, we were angry then we were sad,” he said. “The worst was seeing my parents who built something for over 48 years, to almost lose it because of this violence that is going on right now. These street takeovers in Compton have been getting worse and worse.”

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According to Ramirez Jr., other business owners in the area are also frustrated by the incessant street takeovers.

“My neighbors here are telling me the same thing: They’re with us, and they want this to stop. But I don’t know how you can stop it,” he said.

“We need better policies for the community to help us. I would say sometimes these relaxed laws they don’t help, and the people that suffer are the hardworking people. I hate to say it but nobody gets punished for anything,” he added.

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The crazy thing is the bakery previously survived so much else, including the COVID pandemic.

“We survived the Rodney King riots, the pandemic and other stuff that happens here and there,” Ramirez Jr. told the Los Angeles Times. “Never did I think this would happen to us.”

To its credit, the city is at least trying to help ex post-facto.

“We need to support our local businesses and ensure that criminals know we will not tolerate the destruction of our beloved local establishments, which are the backbone of our city,” City of Compton councilmember Andre Spicer said in a statement.

“Our office has donated supplies, including paint to cover all the graffiti, to the business, helping them restore their store,” he added.

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But it’s unclear whether the city is doing anything — anything at all — about the rampant lawlessness in Los Angeles County.

Indeed, the raid on Ruben’s Bakery & Mexican Food comes amid an uptick in crime that critics, including local police, have blamed on the Democrat-jurisdiction’s zero cash bail policy.

“The elimination of cash bail for these types of offenses is really an invitation to these kind of folks who are inclined to break the law and inclined to do it so brazenly, to push them over to say, ‘hey, if I was to get caught, I’m going to be right back out again,’” Los Angeles Police Protective League spokesperson Tom Saggau told Fox News in August.

“Zero cash bail, also known as no-cash bail or zero-dollar bail, refers to individuals who are arrested and charged with a crime then released from custody without having to pay any bail money upfront,” Fox News noted at the time.

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“The policy was first rolled out in LA during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to decrease jail crowding. It was terminated in July 2022, but a judge reinstated the policy in May after a class action lawsuit was filed by recent arrestees who couldn’t afford to pay bail and had to remain in custody for a few extra days.”

The policy has resulted in a huge uptick in robberies, particularly smash and grabs of big brand stores and small stores alike, as well as endless street takeovers, many of them with violent conclusions.

Cindi Enamorado would know. She lost her brother last year when he was killed by someone who was fleeing a street takeover in their car.

“Every time a street is taken over, we relive our nightmare, a nightmare we have been reliving almost going on a year now and I would hate for anything to happen to another family. I want to know, what’s the plan?” Enamorado said at a recent local city council meeting.

“We need to create a firewall, we need to stop allowing these kids that are coming from other cities that terrorize and vandalize the city. We need to really take this as seriously as it is because, at this moment, it’s only a matter of time before another life is lost,” she added.

Vivek Saxena
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