By Moses Leos III
A Houston woman was arrested last month on a warrant stemming from her alleged role in transporting and selling stolen goods to help a man accused of theft bond out of jail.
Priscilla Rendon, 22, of Houston, was booked into the Hays County Jail Sept. 30 on a charge of money laundering, which is a state jail felony.
According to a Hays County arrest warrant magistrated by Hays County Pct. 2 Justice of the Peace Beth Smith, the San Marcos Police Department had conducted an investigation involving “numerous” thefts from the San Marcos Outlet Mall in mid-July.
The investigation centered on a group of “several people” who were suspected of stealing more than $30,000 in merchandise, along with a Maroon Nissan Maxima.
San Marcos Police saw a vehicle matching the car’s description at the outlet mall, with the vehicle leaving the area at approximately 100 miles per hour.
Officers conducted a traffic stop and allegedly found two pairs of wire cutters, a license plate, white bags stamped with Goodwill Industries and seven Polo brand shirts with security tags attached. Authorities also found a hammer drill.
Authorities arrested Alberto Esquivel, 32, of Corpus Christi, who had three active warrants for theft with two or more convictions. They released Rendon and Armando Esquivel, 32, of Houston, pending an investigation.
But according to the affidavit, Alberto, while at the Hays County Jail, allegedly made “several recorded phone calls pertinent to the investigation”, where he contacted Armando, Rendon and two other women.
Rendon allegedly informed Alberto that she notified one of the two women there were “buyers” for roughly $10,000 in stolen Salvatore Ferragamo purses.
Alberto allegedly told Rendon that he needed $4,500 to get out of jail and told her to collect money “from people that owe him.” Armando allegedly asked her if she had transported the purses to another location.
He then instructed Rendon to tell Armando to lend him the money from the sale of the stolen goods and he would pay them back.
In a separate series of calls, Alberto talked to Armando about people who owe him money and sale of polo shirts. Armando said he had $3,700 and was going to give Alberto $1,300. According to the affidavit, Armando allegedly gave Rendon $100 to “put on Alberto’s books,” according to the affidavit.
They also allegedly talked about the sale of the purses, which came out to only $2,600. Armando allegedly said they gave Rendon “the rest of the shirts so she could sell them and get the rest of the money.”
Alberto was bonded from jail on July 28 after Rendon wired money to the two women to post bail.
Shortly after leaving the jail, Armando was stopped by the Texas Highway Patrol for a warrant related to the purse thefts. He was released Aug. 1 on $40,000 bond.
Rendon is being held in the Hays County Jail on $25,000 bond.
