Police arrested two male suspects, Allan Hoang and Alanmichael Babauta, in Irvine for suspicion of robbery, burglary, kidnapping, false imprisonment and conspiracy mid-January. All That Barbecue, a Korean barbecue restaurant in Irvine, was allegedly targeted by Hoang and Babauta who entered the restaurant with handguns and left with employees’ wallets and other belongings.
Hoang was previously employed at All That Barbecue in 2017. He was arrested by Santa Ana and Grove police, and was found to have a handgun similar to the one in the surveillance tapes as well as the employees’ stolen belongings. His court date was on Feb. 14, when he was held on a $545,000 bail.
Babauta was arrested the day following the robbery after Huntington police caught him driving a stolen vehicle. He is currently being held without bail, according to police.
The restaurant is surrounded by many other businesses in Culver Plaza, a shopping center and a hotel.
“The hotel where the incident occurred is a well-known self-service Korean BBQ restaurant in Irvine, located in one of the busiest shopping centers in Irvine,” reporters said.
The two suspects entered the restaurant twenty minutes before opening time at 11 a.m. They wore blue jeans, black hoodies and sunglasses.
“They demanded all employees move toward the bathroom. One took workers’ wallets and cell phones, the other inspected the business’ cash registers and safe. All were empty, however,” police stated.
Irvine police released surveillance footage and the arrested suspects’ mugshots to the public on Feb. 3. The footage shows the two men entering through the backdoor with loaded handguns. As they proceeded to move the employees and rob their belongings, the employees were held at gunpoint. The pair is suspected to have committed similar crimes throughout Orange County.
In the police reports, the suspects were described as both being between 20 to 40 years old, medium build and between 5’6 and 5’9. One suspect was described as a Hispanic/Asian/Pacific Island male with a dark hair buzz cut without a left eye, and the other was described as a white or Asian male wearing a baseball cap.
For those who have any additional information regarding the suspects, the investigation or any incidents that have occurred prior to this robbery in response to the descriptions and mugshots, contact Detective Nate Ridlon at 949-724-7494.
Hanna Bulaj is a City News Intern for the winter 2022 quarter. She can be reached at hbulaj@uci.edu.
