Originally published by the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office:
“On January 16, 2024, at about 10:00 a.m., Armando Merac from Ceres reported that his hotdog vendor trailer had been stolen from his driveway earlier at night. Merac had recently fixed the trailer in hopes of working with it. Video surveillance showed two males in dark clothing trespassing into Merac’s driveway and physically pushing the hotdog trailer away from the residence.
That same day, at about 2:00 p.m., Property Crimes Detectives located a vehicle that was involved in the theft of the hotdog trailer. Juan Avalos and Jose Lopez were in the car. Both admitted to taking the hotdog trailer and directed law enforcement to the trailer’s location. Avalos and Lopez attempted to change the appearance of the trailer by spray painting it, causing approximately $1000 in damage.
Law enforcement was able to return the hotdog trailer to Merac. Both Lopez and Avalos were arrested and booked for violation of auto theft, possession of stolen property, and vandalism.”
