LOS ANGELES — In Gavin Newsom’s California, an AutoZone in East L.A. didn’t just get hit once. It got cleaned out twice in less than 24 hours by the same brand of opportunistic thugs who treat street takeovers like open invitations to smash-and-grab.
Video circulating online captures the chaos in raw detail. Hooded figures and a shirtless guy with a face covering pour out of the store at 1131 Atlantic Boulevard, arms loaded with batteries, oil, and whatever else they could strip from the shelves. Doors hang off hinges or get propped open with plywood. The floor is littered with debris, smashed registers, and empty shelves. One clip shows people casually walking out like it’s Black Friday, while another reveals the aftermath: shattered glass, destroyed electronics, and deputies finally showing up after the party’s over.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department confirmed the dual assaults. Around 2:30 a.m. Saturday, roughly 100 vehicles jammed the intersection of Atlantic and Olympic for a classic street takeover. A chunk of the crowd peeled off, forced their way into the AutoZone, and ransacked it. Exactly 24 hours later, at 3 a.m. Sunday, the same corner lit up again. Same routine. Same store. Worse damage this time: cash registers smashed to the floor, wiring and computer systems wrecked so badly the location had to shut down for repairs. Employees? Out of luck. They don’t get paid for the closed shifts.
No arrests. Not one.A separate AutoZone in Watts got the same treatment during another takeover the same weekend, complete with a Waymo robotaxi set ablaze for good measure. This isn’t some isolated flare-up. Auto parts stores across L.A. County have become favorite targets during these illegal sideshows for years. The pattern is clear: block the street, spin cars, light fireworks, then raid the nearest retail outlet while law enforcement plays catch-up.
Governor Gavin Newsom and state officials have spent the summer touting “historic lows” in crime—homicide rates at multi-decade bottoms, property crime and vehicle theft supposedly plunging double digits. Official numbers look tidy on a spreadsheet in Sacramento. On the ground in East L.A., the numbers look more like empty shelves and boarded-up doors.
California still has a looting statute on the books with real teeth. It just never seems to get used when the mobs show up under cover of a street takeover. Soft-on-crime policies, catch-and-release realities, and prosecutors more interested in “root causes” than rooting out the actual criminals have created a predictable outcome: businesses get hit, workers lose wages, and the same crews keep coming back because they know the odds of consequences are near zero.
Residents and small business owners are left dealing with the mess while the governor’s office issues press releases about progress. One more AutoZone cleaned out, one more weekend of unchecked lawlessness, and the official line remains the same: crime is down.
Tell that to the employees who showed up Monday to a trashed store and no paycheck. In Newsom’s California, the numbers might look good. The streets tell a different story.
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