The Tulare County Sheriff’s Office has charged a food truck owner, Pablo Serrano, with staging a robbery and committing insurance fraud. The incident occurred on August 2, but Serrano was not arrested until August 12.
Surveillance footage of the robbery has sparked discussions among locals in Visalia. “Honestly, kind of crazy, but you can’t put anything past people these days,” remarked Patricia Samaniego, a Visalia resident. Another local, Joey Anderson, expressed disbelief, stating, “You hear about that happening in big cities or on TV, but for someone to do that here in Visalia? You don’t see that happening a lot.”
On August 2, deputies responded to a report of a robbery at Serrano’s taco truck, located at Caldwell and Highway 99. Serrano claimed that two men stole over $800 in cash and an $80,000 pickup truck used to tow his food trailer. He even provided surveillance footage to the deputies as evidence.
While investigating, deputies received another call reporting a vehicle fire in the Lindcove-Woodlake area. Lt. Randy Gunderman explained that they found Juan Mendez walking nearby, and they quickly connected him to the surveillance footage and the stolen truck.
Upon arrest, Mendez revealed details about the robbery plot. Detectives later learned of a meeting that occurred on July 19, which was confirmed through video surveillance.
The day after the robbery, Serrano filed an insurance claim for his burned vehicle. Just days before his arrest, he posted a video on Instagram, claiming to have discussed the case with a detective and stating that he had spent the day after the incident in the hospital.
The Sheriff’s Office humorously referred to the scheme online as “Nacho Typical Crime,” but emphasized the seriousness of the fraudulent activities. Lt. Gunderman stated, “They were blatantly taking advantage of the system. It’s disheartening that people try to cheat the system that way.”
Serrano faces charges of conspiracy to commit a crime, arson, and insurance fraud, with a bond set at $150,000. Mendez is also charged with conspiracy and arson, with a bond of $50,000. The Sheriff’s Office is seeking a third individual for questioning but has not released a name.