Beloved Culver City ice cream vendor detained by federal agents

CULVER CITY, Calif. (KABC) -- A Culver City community is left in shock after a beloved ice cream vendor was detained by federal agents outside a church earlier this week.

Ambrocio Lozano, known in the community as Enrique, was detained just after 1 p.m. Monday on Culver Boulevard. Witnesses say he was taken by agents in unmarked SUVs.

"Why him? He's working. He's not doing something wrong. He's trying to make a living," Culver City resident Ruben Sanchez said.

Enrique's family says he's originally from Mexico. He's been living in South Los Angeles with his wife but has been driving to Culver City to serve the community for roughly 20 years.

"He's really nice. If someone doesn't have a dollar or 50 cents... he's like, 'Don't worry about it. Just take it,'" Sanchez said.

After he was detained, his ice cream cart was left behind. He usually parks at Veterans Memorial Park. Someone brought his cart back to his car where his family later picked it up.

After no communication for more than 24 hours, he was able to call his family from the detention center in downtown L.A.

"My aunt got a call last night like around 7:45 and it was him," Enrique's niece Kimberly Noriega said. "He was just worried about his cart, like, 'Did you find my cart?'"

Enrique is the main provider for the family. A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to support his wife and legal fees.

Jesse Madera says Enrique has been serving his family for generations.

"He's our neighborhood ice cream man, you know," Madera said. "He's more than that. He was almost like family."