Three people arrested for allegedly receiving stolen goods from a Reno taco shop

RENO, Nev. (KOLO) – Authorities arrested three people Wednesday on suspicion of selling stolen property from a Reno restaurant and smuggling it into Mexico.

Victims included JCPenney, Home Depot, TJX Companies (including TJ Maxx and Marshalls), Lowes and Target.

The Regional Crime Suppression Unit announced the arrest of Jose Manuel Martinez-Aguilar (52), Epifanio Ortiz-Dimas (49) and Maria Manuela Dimas-Aguilar (23). The arrests came after a three-month investigation.

According to RCSU, people stole items from stores and brought them to Roberto's Taco Shop at 4455 S. Virginia St., where employees purchased the stolen items at a huge discount.

The stolen goods were then taken to a house on North Escondido Court in southeast Reno and then shipped to Mexico.

The RCSU executed search warrants for Roberto's Taco Shop and the house on Wednesday and seized thousands of dollars worth of stolen goods and evidence, it said in a statement.

No one at Roberto's Taco Shop answered the phone Wednesday to respond to the allegations. A person who answered the phone at Roberto's Taco Shop's corporate headquarters said they had no comment.

“JC Penney's, Home Depot and TJX Companies donated nearly $4,000 worth of merchandise and provided loss prevention staff support to help make this effort a success,” RCSU said in a statement.

Martinez-Aguilar was charged with attempted organized shoplifting, attempted grand larceny, and possession of stolen property over $5,000 (all felonies), as well as conspiracy to commit organized shoplifting and possession of burglary tools (both misdemeanors).

Ortiz-Dimas and Dimas-Aguilar were charged with conspiracy to commit organized shoplifting and attempted theft.

The RCSU is comprised of detectives from the Reno and Sparks police departments and the Washoe County Sheriff's Office.

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