Several stores were looted this weekend in downtown and south Los Angeles, just minutes from where streets were closed to hold sideshows that are nothing more than illegal car stunt shows that are They take place during the middle of the night on public roads.

In the last month, 17 businesses have been robbed around the street setting for sideshows, resulting in thousands of dollars in losses and damages for business owners.

According to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), the first incident was reported around 1:30 a.m. near Century Boulevard and Central Avenue in South Los Angeles, where a sideshow was held and an AutoZone store was robbed.

Minutes later, at 2:45 a.m., police received calls for assistance reporting several robberies near a location where another street had been taken over and closed.

Officers found that the T-Mobile store at South Figueroa and Slauson streets had its windows smashed and the interior looted.

The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department reported that at 3:00 a.m., they received another report of another street taken over at the intersection of Wilmington Avenue and Del Amo Boulevard in the city of Carson in southern Los Angeles County.

The WSS shoe store was robbed at the location. In this case, at least two people were arrested in connection with this incident. However, no arrests were reported in connection with the robberies at T-Mobile and AutoZone stores.

Employees at the looted stores boarded up their windows after the robbery.

Taking Advantage of the Raids

On Sunday, June 8, one of the nights when the strongest protests against the immigration raids in Los Angeles took place, the Sr. Fish restaurant in downtown Los Angeles, next to the LAPD building on Main and Second Streets, was vandalized and robbed.

They broke the windows, and they took money from the registers, bottles of tequila and beer, said Enrique Ramirez, owner of the place, who just this week filed the complaint with the LAPD Central Bureau.

I had to close for a week, and not reopen until Monday, June 16, when things started to calm down.

Meanwhile, wooden sheets were placed to cover the spaces left exposed by the broken windows.

Mr. Fish's employees believe the robbers were people who took advantage of the protests to loot businesses in downtown Los Angeles.

The protesters were not thieves, but bandits who took advantage of the confusion created and the fact that all the police were focused on the protesters, said one of the employees.

Enrique, Mr. Fish's owner, said the robbery was a hard blow to the restaurant, since they have not been able to recover after the covid pandemic, and sales are very slow.

The truth is, I don't know What can I do to prevent this from looting me again?

Even though Ramirez's restaurant is next to LAPD headquarters, the criminals had no qualms about robbing him.

Mob of Robbers

On Monday, July 7, a business owner in the Jefferson Park area of Los Angeles reported that around 3:00 a.m., 100 people robbed several stores after taking over a street.

The mob robbed a 99-cent store, a nail salon, a beauty supply store, and other businesses in a plaza located at Western Avenue and Adams Boulevard, leaving extensive damage.

Officer Cervantes of the The LAPD reported no arrests, though one man was apparently detained.

As a precaution, private security company Off Duty Officers Inc. recommends on its website that businesses be cleared of cash, merchandise, and equipment to the extent possible to minimize losses if they are robbed.

If you remove belongings from the property, post signs indicating there is nothing of value on the premises. While not a surefire deterrent, looters may be less inclined to target your business if they know they won't find anything of value.