Guilty plea expected in truck theft ring case

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November 16, 2012

Guilty plea expected in truck theft ring case

By BRAD KELLAR Herald-Banner Staff The Herald-Banner Fri Nov 16, 2012, 11:37 PM CST

GREENVILLE — An area resident intends to plead guilty Monday to being a part of a ring involved in stealing truck trailers and televisions.

The final two defendants indicted with the case, which involved thefts from across North Texas, also have hearings scheduled this week in connection with their pending trials.

Manuel H. Arias-Robaina of Royse City is scheduled to plead guilty Monday, during a hearing in the 354th District Court, to one count of engaging in organized criminal activity. The charge is a first degree felony, punishable by a maximum sentence upon conviction of from five to 99 years to life in prison and an optional fine of up to $10,000.

Geovannie Delpino and Elvis Pedraza, both of Frisco, have pretrial hearings scheduled in the court Tuesday, with trials set to begin December 3.

Gricel Paola Grijalva was sentenced last month to 10 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice-Institutional Division. Judge Richard A. Beacom then ordered the sentence suspended and placed Grijalva on 10 years of probation, with 90 days in the Hunt County Jail.

Grijalva was the third Royse City resident connected to the alleged scheme to have either pleaded guilty or to have been found guilty this year.

Yosvani Bacallao-Dominguez of Royse City/Irving, entered open pleas in September to one count each of engaging in organized criminal activity/theft of property of the value of more than $200,000 and theft of property of the value of between $20,000 and $100,000 and was sentenced to two years in prison with 10 years of probation.

An engaging in organized criminal activity indictment filed against Gisel Cruz of Royse City was dismissed.

Arnold A. Zamora of Royse City was found guilty by a jury in May of three counts, including engaging in organized crime. The same panel sentenced Zamora to 20 years in prison.

Prosecutors claim Bacallao-Dominguez and Zamora were involved an elaborate scheme to steal trailers out of Dallas.

On the night of March 5, 2010 deputies from multiple law enforcement agencies in checking a trailer outside a residence on County Road 2472. The trailer did turn out to be reported stolen, along with a Toshiba television and other items.

A Penske truck was reported having left the residence earlier in the day and was stopped in Dallas County, where authorities discovered it contained more than 170 stolen Toshiba televisions.

A search warrant served on the residence on County Road 2472 revealed the recreational vehicle, in which Bacallao-Dominguez and his family had been living, had been reported stolen by the Mesquite Police Department. A Kubota tractor and two semi trailers found on the property were also reported as stolen.