Woman charged with stealing $100K in restaurant equipment

A Las Vegas restaurateur has been charged with stealing more than $100,000 in equipment from a restaurant that went under in February 2021.

Ruth Rodriguez-Perez, 54, was booked into the Clark County Detention Center Tuesday on a single felony count of theft $100,000 or greater. A Las Vegas police arrest warrant for Rodriguez-Perez indicates she was charged in the disappearance of a large volume of restaurant equipment from a Guatamalan cuisine restaurant operated in a pair of retail spaces at 4632 S. Maryland Parkway last year.

Police wrote in the warrant that Rodriguez-Perez had entered into a rental agreement with Las Vegas University Gardens in 2019 to rent the space. When she did, police said, the restaurant was already fully furnished with equipment.

Police said Rodriguez-Perez eventually fell behind in her rent for the restaurant by “several tens of thousands of dollars.” Then, representatives with Las Vegas University Gardens lost contact with her. A property manager subsequently went to the restaurant and found “the restaurant had been gutted and all the equipment was gone,” police said.

Stolen were several refrigerators and freezers, a flat grill, a burner stove, a fryer, an oven, cold storage set-up containers, a microwave, serving plates, bowls, frying pans, pots, glassware, chopping blocks, blenders, a coffee pot, bar stools, a surface heater, an iPad payment system, several flat screen televisions and large paintings. Police said there were no signs of forced entry.

The arrest warrant was issued on Oct. 18. Rodriguez-Perez made an initial appearance in Las Vegas Justice Court on Wednesday. She has since been released from custody after posting a surety bond. Court records do not list an attorney for her.

Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.