STOCKTON, Calif. — Claudia Ruiz had to spend a morning assessing the damage and checking security camera videos at her Stockton business, La Baja Birreria Tijuana, for the second time in a week.
"I can't process it still," said Ruiz. "For us, it's hard."
Early Wednesday morning three burglars broke into the restaurant on Wilson Way, getting away with electronics, drinks and containers valued at more than $2,000.
"There was like a mess everywhere. They broke windows, there were plates everywhere, so it was just a really bad mess," said Ruiz. "We had to open late. The taco trucks left late, too. So it's not just what (the burglars) took, it's everything that they left behind, like all the damages and stuff."
The burglary came days after two of Ruiz's employees were held at gunpoint and robbed inside La Baja Birreria Tijuana's taco truck on Hammer Lane.
The Stockton Police Department is investigating both the robbery and burglary, but haven't arrested anyone yet, leaving Ruiz and her employees on edge.
"The ones that were working in the taco truck... they don't want to come back to work so it's even harder for us," said Ruiz. "We're kind of worried if they come back and do it again."
Ruiz says the community has been supportive despite the setbacks. She hopes her business will move forward and the violence will stop.
"The damage that they do is more than what they take," said Ruiz. "If they need a job, if they need to eat, just say it. I mean, we have a lot of openings for jobs or I don't mind giving them something to eat instead of just coming in and taking it like that."
