A married couple who work as landscapers were left shaken after thieves stole the couple’s tools and seriously injured one of them.
The incident happened on the afternoon of Jan. 7 as Esteban Vargas and his wife, Linda Huerta, were working on the South Pasadena home of one of their clients, according to a GoFundMe organized for the couple.
Vargas happened to be working in the client’s backyard when two men approached the family’s pickup truck and began stealing tools from it, prompting Huerta, who was nearby, to intervene.
Brandon Ruiz, one of the couple’s customers, explained that she tried to stop the men from taking their tools.
“She held onto the guy as the guy was getting back into his truck and dragged her down the street,” he explained. “He hit her hard and she fell off the truck and I think that’s how she got the staples in her head, from that hit.”
Huerta, who suffered head injuries that required staples and a large scrape on her back to keep from being dragged down the street, told KTLA that the incident left her scared and still in pain.
Vargas became emotional when he talked about how much he feared for his wife’s safety.
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Landscaper Linda Huerta, seen with her husband Esteban Vargas, suffered serious injuries during a violent robbery at a South Pasadena job site on January 7, 2026. (KTLA)
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Landscaper Linda Huerta, seen with her husband Esteban Vargas, suffered serious injuries during a violent robbery at a South Pasadena job site on January 7, 2026. (KTLA)
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Landscaper Linda Huerta, seen with her husband Esteban Vargas, suffered serious injuries during a violent robbery at a South Pasadena job site on January 7, 2026. (KTLA)
“He showed me he got new gear, and I thought it was a Christmas present and then he was going to start crying, and I was like, ‘What’s wrong?’ He said his wife was beaten and their equipment stolen. He showed me their truck and the chain they broke,” Ruiz told KTLA.
In total, it cost the couple about $1,500 to replace the equipment that was stolen during the ordeal.
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“When he showed me the pictures, I was very sad,” added Ruiz. “These families are hardworking, and we have a lot of things going on with this immigration right now and it’s just sad to see someone rob them of what’s bringing them a living.”
The incident was reported to the police and the search is on for the two suspects involved in the violent robbery.
“I hope that whoever did this, catches them, but more importantly that the family is able to recover,” said Ruiz. “It’s not just the physical trauma but the emotional trauma that they’re going to experience from this.”
While the couple has already returned to work just days after the horrific incident, community members have organized a GoFundMe to help them recover their losses and provide for their family during the recovery.
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