{"id":27808,"date":"2026-05-02T14:30:51","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T19:30:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/?p=27808"},"modified":"2026-05-02T08:47:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T13:47:21","slug":"east-grand-forks-hugos-theft-case-charges-nd-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/east-grand-forks-hugos-theft-case-charges-nd-man\/","title":{"rendered":"East Grand Forks Hugo\u2019s Theft Case Charges ND Man"},"content":{"rendered":"

East Grand Forks<\/strong> (trfnews.i234.me<\/a>) \u2014 Rodrigo Rodriguez Jr., 45, of Grand Forks, North Dakota, is facing a felony theft charge in Polk County District Court.<\/p>\n

The charge stems from an investigation at Hugo\u2019s in East Grand Forks.<\/p>\n

Court records list the case as 60-CR-25-724.<\/p>\n

Rodriguez is charged with felony theft of property valued at more than $5,000.<\/p>\n

The charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.<\/p>\n

It also carries a possible $20,000 fine.<\/p>\n

Hugo\u2019s Investigation Led to a Charge<\/h2>\n

According to the complaint, Hugo\u2019s asset protection staff investigated thefts involving employee Melissa Ann Vargas.<\/p>\n

The investigation focused on liquor, cash, and other merchandise.<\/p>\n

Staff later confronted Vargas at the East Grand Forks store.<\/p>\n

The complaint says Vargas admitted stealing from Hugo\u2019s stores in East Grand Forks and Grand Forks.<\/p>\n

The total alleged loss was listed at $11,521.30.<\/p>\n

Records show $8,763.66 was tied to the East Grand Forks store.<\/p>\n

The Grand Forks store loss was listed at $2,757.64.<\/p>\n

\"Rodrigo
Rodrigo Rodriguez Jr.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Complaint Cites Liquor And Store Video<\/h2>\n

During an interview, Vargas allegedly told police how Rodriguez was involved.<\/p>\n

She said that when Rodriguez came into the store, she would pretend to scan liquor bottles.<\/p>\n

She allegedly let him leave with liquor without paying.<\/p>\n

Vargas also allegedly said she sometimes scanned items at lower prices.<\/p>\n

Asset protection later reviewed surveillance video from Hugo\u2019s in East Grand Forks.<\/p>\n

The review found Rodriguez allegedly stole $6,804.87 in liquor and other property.<\/p>\n

The alleged thefts happened from February 17, 2025, through April 17, 2025.<\/p>\n

Investigators also searched Vargas\u2019 vehicle and residence during the case.<\/p>\n

The complaint says police found suspected methamphetamine, alcohol, THC gummies, and drug-related items.<\/p>\n

Marissa Vargas Lund later turned over five bottles of liquor, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors Seek Aggravated Sentence<\/h2>\n

The complaint lists prior convictions for Rodriguez in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Texas.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors filed notice that they may seek an aggravated sentence.<\/p>\n

They cite career offender grounds and probation concerns.<\/p>\n

The charge remains an allegation.<\/p>\n

Rodriguez is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.<\/p>\n

More information about Minnesota court records is available through Minnesota Court Records Online<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Minnesota\u2019s theft law is listed under Minnesota Statute 609.52<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Minnesota\u2019s career offender law is listed under Minnesota Statute 609.1095<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I’m Chris Harper reporting for TRF News<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

East Grand Forks (trfnews.i234.me) \u2014 Rodrigo Rodriguez Jr., 45, of Grand Forks, North Dakota, is facing a felony theft charge in Polk County District Court. The charge stems from an investigation at Hugo\u2019s in East Grand Forks. Court records list the case as 60-CR-25-724. Rodriguez is charged with felony theft of property valued at more… Continue reading East Grand Forks Hugo\u2019s Theft Case Charges ND Man<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27810,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wpscp_schedule_draft_date":"","_wpscp_schedule_republish_date":"","_wpscppro_advance_schedule":false,"_wpscppro_advance_schedule_date":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":null,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"default","_threads_share_type":"default","_google_business_share_type":"default","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[12],"tags":[17132,1555,17133,15503,6265,16756,786],"class_list":["post-27808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","tag-east-grand-forks-hugos-theft","tag-felony-theft-charge","tag-grand-forks-man-charged","tag-minnesota-theft-case","tag-polk-county-court","tag-rodrigo-rodriguez-jr","tag-trf-news","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27808"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27808\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27811,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27808\/revisions\/27811"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}