2 wanted in armed robbery of Livingston taco shop

LIVINGSTON, Calif. (KFSN) -- Employees of a family-owned taco shop in Livingston are now working in fear, they say, after being robbed at gunpoint.

It was just before 8:30 p.m. Saturday, when masked gunmen made their way into the kitchen of the restaurant. Wendy Ruiz said she was one of four employees working at the time, when a man put a gun in her face. "When I saw them coming in I just dropped to the ground, and I didn't know what to think, what to say, or what to do," said Ruiz.

Two men in their 30s, police said, wore masks and forced the staff to hand over hundreds of dollars from their register. The men also stole Ruiz's purse.

"It's unfortunate that these criminals decided to pick on hardworking families and take their personal money," said Sgt. Ray Fong of the Livingston Police Department.

He said a crime like this is rare in Livingston. Once the men got what they wanted, Fong said they ran off. "We're such a small town that most everybody knows everybody, or are someway related, they know each other. So, I'm tempted to believe that it's going to be people from out of town," he said.

Ruiz said the store owners are now installing security cameras and are being more vigilant at night. In the grand scheme of things, she said the suspects didn't take much, but the family-owned store is taking a hit. "It's still all of our hard work, especially my boyfriend's parents' hard work; you know they work for that money. And for somebody to just come and take it like that, it's kind of not fair," she said.

Investigators say they're still searching for the suspects.

Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact the Livingston Police Department at (209) 394-7916.