Taco truck owner arrested after TikTok shows vandalism of rival’s stand, CA cops say

A food truck owner has been arrested after a viral video showed him vandalizing the stand of one of his competitors in Los Angeles.

The vandalism occurred at the Tacos la Guera stand on Thursday, Jan. 27, in Whittier, where a man is shown in the video dousing a cooking setup with a fire extinguisher. The video has been watched on TikTok nearly 5 million times as of Monday, Jan. 31.

The act was spurred by a turf war between two food vendors, The Los Angeles Times reported.

A felony vandalism report was taken and police identified the suspect as 38-year-old Carlos Plascencia, according to NBC LA. He was arrested at his home, police said.

“Based on the report, (Plascencia) stated that that was his spot, and he told the victim to pretty much leave his spot,” Sgt. Marcelo Ortega told the LA Times.

No one was injured during the incident, but Armando Martinez, an employee for Tacos La Guera, said he was threatened before the man later arrived with the fire extinguisher, according to KABC.

“I said this guy was going to punch us because he was close to us,” Martinez told the station. “Maybe he’s going to want to hurt me. So I kept my distance and stayed back.”

Tacos la Guera suffered more than $2,000 worth of damage, NBC LA reported.

Police said a large crowd has gathered at the food truck in support of the taco vendor was vandalized.

“For another food vendor to do something like that, it’s absurd and it’s disrespectful,” Whittier resident Bryant Sciono told CBS LA. “I had to come support because even though we’re getting our first restaurant, I can’t forget where we came from.”

This story was originally published January 31, 2022 at 2:08 PM with the headline "Taco truck owner arrested after TikTok shows vandalism of rival’s stand, CA cops say."