100 people follow up street takeover with mass break-in, officials say, trashing Compton bakery
More than 100 people ransacked a Compton bakery early Tuesday morning after a nearby illegal street takeover, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
They poured into the business by the dozens, scrambling over the front counter, pulling items off shelves and making off with cash registers, surveillance video shows.
Law enforcement was contacted at 3:25 a.m. about a “burglary in progress” at Ruben’s Bakery & Mexican Food on North Santa Fe Avenue.
Video from the business shows a white Kia Soul being driven in reverse and slamming through a security gate at the front entrance to allow the crowd entry.
A woman was shot and injured at her home on Encino Avenue on New Year’s Eve by an ACS Security guard who was patrolling alone.
Deputy Miguel Meza, a Sheriff’s Department spokesperson, said the thieves had been participating in an illegal street takeover at the intersection of Santa Fe Avenue and El Segundo Boulevard, right in front of the bakery.
Street takeovers involve a group of people blocking off an intersection with cars and using the space to do doughnuts and other street-racing maneuvers, Meza said. Compton city officials have vowed to crack down on the illegal gatherings, which have been known to be deadly. They exploded in popularity amid the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.
The Sheriff’s Department had received several calls about the street takeover around the same time as the burglary, Meza said, though deputies had trouble reaching the location because of the blocked roadways.
Authorities did not have an estimate on damage to the business, but KCAL News reported that, according to the owner, losses included nearly $20,000 in earnings from the New Year’s Eve holiday weekend.
An employee at the bakery declined to comment.
Known for its bolillos, or Mexican bread rolls, Meza said, Ruben’s Bakery has been in the community for more than 40 years and is viewed as a neighborhood fixture. It became even more important to local residents as a go-to during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, when it was one of the few such businesses in the area to remain open.
No arrests have been made and the investigation remains ongoing.
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