Supporters came to Hemet on Wednesday for Gerardo Martinez, a street vendor who was robbed at gunpoint Monday night.
Martinez was selling corn on Yale Street near Mayberry Avenue around 7:30 p.m. when a gold Toyota sedan pulled up and a man got out and demanded money.
Martinez said all he had was about $80, something that frustrated the thief, who thought he’d have more.
“I don’t remember a lot in that moment, I freaked out, I was in shock,” Martinez said in Spanish.
Martinez wasn’t hurt, though the suspects did take off with his hard-earned cash, making it the most recent in a series of robberies involving street vendors.
Earlier this month, a woman attacked a South L.A. street vendor when she was told she’d have to wait for her burrito.
“It’s just sad to see people come and do this especially to them. They’re hard workers, they don’t really come from a lot,” a neighbor said.
Sgt. Brandi Swan, spokesperson for the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, said in an email that Martinez was robbed by two men aged 20 to 30, one of whom is about 5 feet, 3 inches with a medium build and the other who is about 6 feet, 1 inch tall with dreadlocks.
“Deputies searched the area, but the suspects were not located,” Swan added.