Reinaldo Fuentes-Nietzsche is charged with robbing El Ranchito in Green Bay at gunpoint Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo source: Brown County Jail)
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Reinaldo Fuentes-Nietzsche was convicted Friday of the armed robbery at the restaurant where his girlfriend worked, during which the owner estimated $20,000 was stolen.
Fuentes-Nietzsche, 26, pleaded no contest to armed robbery with a threat of force for the Feb. 17 incident at El Ranchito on S. Webster Avenue. He’ll be sentenced Dec. 13, court records show.
His girlfriend, Abigail Guerrero, is also charged. She has a plea hearing scheduled for Sept. 9.
According to the criminal complaint, Fuentes-Nietzsche entered the store, showed a gun, and told the clerk, “Give me everything right now or I’ll shoot both of you right now!”
El Ranchito’s owner told police he estimated up to $20,000 was stolen, because he had filled the cash register with cash for people cashing checks.
Police also interviewed one of the clerks who was on duty during the robbery, Abigail Guerrero. She was dating Fuentes-Nietzsche, and knew that he planned to rob the store “when the boss was not there,” the complaint states.
“Abigail said that Reinaldo would frequently bring her food in the past and was aware of when the boss was there and when he left,” she said, according to the complaint.
She identified the gun used the in robbery, and said Fuentes-Nietzsche used the money from the heist to purchase a Mercedes, pay off some debts, buy shoes, and purchase marijuana for resale.
After his arrest, Fuentes-Nietzsche confirmed Guerrero knew of the robbery plans.
“Reinaldo told (an officer) about feeling guilty for not having money or being able to provide for his family. He expressed remorse and appeared sincere that he regretted committing the robbery, as he cried during the interview and said that he wished he could go back and never had done it,” the complaint states.
Fuentes-Nietzsche estimated the take was about $13,000.
Comments