NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – A store employee was arrested Thursday for knowingly purchasing stolen merchandise.
According to Metro police, a five-month long investigation resulted in the arrest of 39-year-old Reyes Bibiano-Sarabia, an employee of El Rodeo Mercado Latino located in the 1400 block of Gallatin Pike North as investigators determined he was purchasing stolen merchandise.
After further investigation, in cooperation with retail stores Kroger, Home Depot, Lowes, TJ Maxx, JCPenney, Walmart, and Walgreens, officers learned that Bibiano-Sarabia wrote out “shopping lists” of items he was looking to get for his store. He would then purchase the items for a fraction of their value, according to investigators.
Police said undercover detectives “sold” lots of new-in-box merchandise to Bibiano-Sarabia, with some items in tamper proof anti-theft devices, for less than 10 cents on the dollar after clearly marking the items as stolen.
In addition to Bibiano-Sarabia, the following shoplifters, reportedly all from Nashville, were charged with theft of merchandise:
- Jonathan McKinney, 48
- Jonathan Rose, 25
- James William Beach, 48
- Alison Doty, 48
- Thomas Tomlin, 35
Bibiano-Sarabia is free after posting a $15,000 bond, according to police.
