San Fernando Valley family out $60K after plumbing work truck stolen, stripped

Thieves steal plumber's truck in Paramount

The Galarza family said they're devastated after thieves stole their family plumbing company's truck, a business Israel Galarza said he saved for 20 years to start the company. Tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment was taken.

PARAMOUNT, Calif. - A San Fernando Valley family is out of more than $60,000 after a group of people stole their work plumbing truck and tools on Tuesday morning.

The incident happened when Galarza Plumbing was at a customer's home in Paramount. As Israel Galarza and one of his helpers were working, a group broke into their truck, hot-wired it, and drove away. The theft was captured on the home surveillance video.

Israel Galarza told FOX 11 that he has been working as a plumber for more than 20 years, and worked hard to save money to launch his own small business. It's a one-truck, one-man, one job at a time plumbing company.

"For this to happen to us, it's just heartbreaking. It's tough because this is our livelihood," said Israel.

His wife, Jasmine Galarza, said the family is raising money to try to recover some losses through their GoFundMe campaign.

"We don't like to ask for help. We really don't, but we really are in such dire needs. The people who did this, I don't think you realize the magnitude of what you did to a small family. We are not a huge company. We are a one truck company. We are a mom and a dad with kids, and this is a huge downfall for us," said Jasmine.

The family said they label their equipment and tools with "Galarza Tools" or "I.G" standing for Israel Galarza, and they're asking the public to contact authorities if their tools are spotted anywhere.

Authorities recovered the truck, but all of the equipment was stolen, and the truck had a lot of damage too.

Paramount Crime and Public Safety