Failed Fraud: Taco truck owner arrested in fake robbery, arson plot

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Caught connected camera and caught successful a lie.

The Tulare County Sheriff's Office says a nutrient motortruck proprietor staged a robbery and committed security fraud.

The transgression took spot connected August 2nd, but the suspected antheral down the program wasn't arrested until the 12th.

The surveillance video of the incidental is present causing a batch of speech online and astir Visalia.

"Honestly, benignant of crazy, but you can't enactment thing past radical these days," said Patricia Samaniego, Visalia Local.

"I thought that was crazy," said Joey Anderson, Visalia Local. "You perceive astir that happening successful large cities and connected TV oregon thing similar that, but for idiosyncratic to bash that fraud present successful Visalia? You don't spot that happening a lot."

The Tulare County Sheriff's Office said they were called to Caldwell and 99 successful Visalia connected August 2nd to analyse a robbery of a taco truck.

The owner, Pablo Serrano, told deputies 2 men took much than $800 successful currency and an $80,000 pickup motortruck helium uses to tow his nutrient trailer.

They adjacent handed implicit surveillance videos to officers showing the crime.

While reviewing the video, different telephone came in.

"And astir simultaneously, we got a telephone for a conveyance connected occurrence successful the Lindcove - Woodlake area," said Lt. Randy Gunderman, Tulare County Sheriff's Office.

Lt. Gunderman said portion responding, they recovered Juan Mendez walking down the roadworthy not acold from the truck. They rapidly tied the motortruck backmost to Serrano and Mendez to the surveillance video.

Mendez was arrested, and that's erstwhile Lt. Gunderman said helium had revealed the plot.

"At that point, detectives were led to judge that a gathering had taken spot a mates of weeks anterior connected July 19th," said Gunderman. "They were capable to corroborate the gathering did instrumentality spot via video surveillance."

The pursuing day, investigators said Serrano had made an security assertion for his burned vehicle.

Just days earlier helium was arrested, Serrano posted this video to Instagram, saying helium had spoken to a detective astir the lawsuit and that helium had spent the time pursuing the incidental successful the hospital.

The Sheriff's Office referred to the strategy online arsenic "Nacho Typical Crime," cashing successful connected the puns but not taking mendacious reports lightly.

"They were blatantly taking vantage of the system," said Gunderman. "From the security companies to the instrumentality enforcement officers, to the arson investigators... It's disheartening that radical effort to cheat the strategy that way."

Serrano was arrested connected charges of conspiracy to perpetrate a crime, arson, and security fraud; helium is being held connected a $150,000 bond. Mendez was besides arrested for conspiracy and arson. His enslaved is $50,000.

Deputies are looking for a 3rd idiosyncratic for questioning but person not released a name.