The California hot dog vendor whose earnings were seized by cops in a video that went viral is now relishing a beefy check presented over the weekend.
Beto Matias appeared with his wife and two kids at the University of California at Berkeley on Saturday and received the check totaling $87,921.
After fees and taxes, Matias will have about $60,000 to finance his dream of owning a fully licensed food truck, Martin Flores, the customer who shot the video and collected the donations through GoFundMe.com, told the Daily News.
“He’s so grateful and humble,” Flores said of Matias. “I think he appreciates that people throughout the country expressed their support, sympathy and compassion. The comments from the people who cared were so fulfilling to him. They hit the heart.”
Flores was buying a hot dog from Matias on Sept. 9 when the transaction was interrupted by campus police. He began filming, and the video of Matias interacting with Officer Sean Aranas quickly garnered millions of views when posted to news sites and on social media.
Recorded outside a UC Berkeley football game, the video depicts Officer Aranas taking cash directly out of Matias’s wallet and citing Matias for operating without a permit.
“That’s not right,” Flores is heard pleading with the officer from behind his camera phone.
“That’s how it works …The judge can decide whether or not it’s right,” Aranas responds.
“You’re gonna take his hard-earned money?” Flores asks.
“Yup,” says Aranas. “This is law and order in action.”
Flores accuses the cop of ignoring people “drinking in public” and targeting “a hard-working man” instead.
Police told KTVU that Matias’ money was booked into evidence after he was issued the citation.
Flores not only posted his video online but started the GoFundMe account and tracked Matias down.
The GoFundMe effort is still ongoing, Flores said.
“The current goal is to raise enough to buy a new truck. They run about $150,000,” Flores told The News. “We’re trying to maximize the support to get him a legitimate business. Ideally, that’s a new food truck, but it could possibly be a used truck or possibly a trailer.”
He said was telling that more than 5,000 people gave donations online, with a huge number of them being $20 or less.
“People felt a connection and wanted to let him know they care,” Flores said. “It was powerful.”
