Sticky Business : Oxnard Officials Shut Down Boy’s Candy Store

Tommy Ramirez wanted to go to college, and worried that his parents couldn’t afford it. So at age 8, he set up a candy stand in his Oxnard home’s front yard on a toy chest his father had built for him. Four years later, it had evolved into a well-stocked ice cream, candy and snack store in his family’s garage.

Business was brisk. Tommy, now 13, grossed $50 a day this year, attracting a faithful clientele. For dozens of kids, Tommy’s place was a mandatory stop on the way to school and the cool place to hang out at after class was over.

By Wednesday, the day he got busted, Tommy had saved up $200 in a bank account for his college tuition. He wants to major in business administration at Oxnard College.

Tommy said he had seen the plainclothes police officer walk up and down his alley. But, he said, the thought of getting busted had never crossed his mind.

“I’ve sold candy to policemen. They were my customers,” he said Thursday, still shaken after a sleepless night. “Why did they have to raid my store?”

Oxnard Police Officer Robert Coughlin was doing his rounds Wednesday, driving down an alley behind Coyne Street in south Oxnard when he came across an unusual sight.

About 20 youths were gathered outside a garage where candy and ice cream bars were going like hot cakes. Behind the counter was Tommy.

“This was a full-blown retail operation, complete with cash registers, signs, a freezer full of ice cream and a sizable candy inventory,” said Sgt. Denny Phillips, Laughlin’s supervisor.

Laughlin concluded that Tommy was working for his parents and decided to turn the matter over to city code enforcement officials, Phillips said.

Code enforcement inspector Joe Avelar received a radio call to meet Laughlin near the garage.

Avelar said he noticed a lot of problems with Tommy’s operation. The boy kept no books. He had no business license and no health permits. He paid no taxes on his profits and he broke a zoning law that said garages should be used for storage and cars.

Tommy said Avelar threatened to send him to juvenile hall and to have his mother fired from her city job.

The boy said he could deal with that. But when Avelar turned to his loyal customers and told them to scram, that made him mad. And when Laughlin grabbed his two cash registers and impounded them as evidence, Tommy almost cried.

“They treated me like a drug dealer, right there, in front of all my friends,” he recalled bitterly Thursday as he stashed away $260 in unused inventory.

Avelar denied that he tried to scare Tommy. “I was nice to him, I told him we had a little problem, and we needed to straighten it out,” he said.

Tommy was in tears when he called his mother to tell her what happened. His mother, Betty Ramirez, was furious.

“I couldn’t believe they would harass a 13-year-old boy when they have so many better things to do,” Ramirez said. She said she knew her son’s business was illegal. “To me, at least he’s not in the streets causing trouble,” she said.

Oxnard Police Chief Robert Owens said he admires Tommy and thinks code enforcement officials should make exceptions for enterprising kids such as him. “When I was growing up, I sold lemonade without a permit, I shined shoes without a permit,” the chief said.

Code enforcement supervisor Richard MacIntosh also said he admires Tommy’s entrepreneurial spirit, and blamed the Police Department for the incident. “My inspector was called there by police,” he said.

At school, the news spread quickly. Rumors flew back and forth. Tommy said some of his friends heard that he’d been held up at gunpoint with an Uzi.

After school, Tommy did what any shopkeeper worth his salt would do the day after being forced to close: He stood solemnly in front of the garage and faced his customers. About 20 showed up.

Some kids begged him for one more sale, but Tommy explained that he couldn’t sell anything because he didn’t have a permit.

The boy said he’ll start another candy business someday. For now, however, his dream is on hold.

“I don’t have anything to do,” he said, “except sit around and watch TV.”