Today the Nacogdoches County Sheriff’s Office made two additional arrests in the massive Theft Ring that was uncovered late last week. Brothers Juan (age 40) and Edgar (age 38) Pineda were both arrested this morning on warrants for Felony Theft (1st degree) after hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of stolen property was recovered from property they owned in Nacogdoches County. The investigation began last Friday when a search warrant was executed at the residence of defendants Juan (age 34) and Lucia (age 34) Centeno in the Briar Forest Subdivision of Nacogdoches County. That search netted the recovery of three stolen vehicles, and several stolen trailers, ATVs and welding machines. Since that time, six more locations have been searched within Nacogdoches County and 176 items totaling approximately $650,000.00 has been recovered by the Nacogdoches County Sheriff’s Office, including:
| No. Items | Item Types Recovered | Estimated Values |
| 6 | 3/4 and one-ton diesel Pick Up Trucks | $ 250,000.00 |
| 5 | Farm Tractors (Front End Loaders/Implements) | $ 168,000.00 |
| 5 | Commercial Grade Zero Turn Lawn Mowers | $ 47,000.00 |
| 17 | 4-wheelers and ATV’s | $ 69,000.00 |
| 19 | Trailers (low boys, utilities, Goose Neck, Livestock) | $ 39,500.00 |
| 6 | Welders, Generators and Accessories | $ 17,500.00 |
| 2 | Recreational Travel Trailers | $ 39,000.00 |
| 10 | Home Appliances | $ 4,200.00 |
| 24 | Gun’s & Ammo | $ 4,000.00 |
| 59 | Power Tools, Machinery and Equipment | $ 7,400.00 |
| 8 | Vehicle Parts | $ 600.00 |
| 14 | Miscellaneous | $ 450.00 |
| 1 | Industrial Pressure Cleaning Equipment | $ 3,500.00 |
| 176 | Approximate Total Dollar Value of Recovered Items | $ 650,150.00 |
We believe that other citizens living in the surrounding area may have been sold, traded or given stolen items similar to those listed above by these defendants or their associates. We ask that anyone that has received property from any of these individuals contact the Sheriff’s Office and allow us to inspect that property to ensure it is not stolen.
Many of the items that have been recovered were originally taken from surrounding jurisdictions, including: Angelina County, Brazos County, Cherokee County, Houston County, Panola County, Shelby County, San Augustine County, and western Louisiana. Items recovered in this investigation have been linked to several stolen items that were recovered approximately one year ago that spanned as far south as Gonzales, Texas. We have been assisted in this investigation by officers from most of those jurisdictions, as well as DPS Criminal Investigator Warren Kirkland and Texas Ranger Tom Davis.
This has become a massive investigation. I am proud of the tireless efforts of my officers as well as the invaluable assistance of our counterparts in these surrounding jurisdictions. We are all excited at the success we have achieved thus far, but our efforts are far from over. We will continue to seek out additional stolen property and identify additional suspects responsible for these crimes.
Sheriff Thomas Kerss
Nacogdoches County Sheriff’s Office
you just never know who is dishonest any more.