What to know about saga of Fresno taco shop owner who vanished then reappeared
The Fresno Bee has been tracking the story of Armando Arias Jr., owner of the popular Tacos El Cabezon, who was reported missing and then found safe. The incident exposed a trail of financial and legal problems he’s facing.
Here’s a recap of the key developments
• Found safe after missing person report: Fresno Police confirmed a missing person report was filed Friday for Arias, and detectives located him by Monday afternoon. Sgt. Diana Trueba Vega said, “He’s alive and he’s safe.”
• Arias says he was hospitalized for six days: Arias resurfaced Tuesday on Instagram, saying he had been at Fresno Community hospital since the previous Wednesday. He did not say why he was hospitalized.
• A $507,058.48 court judgment looms over him: The judgment stems from a case in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, involving a trucking company Arias once ran called Cabezon Transport, and was reaffirmed in Fresno County Superior Court on April 10.
• All of his taco locations are now closed or gone: His downtown Fulton Street restaurant is shut with no sign on the door, the McKinley and Fruit location never opened, an eviction notice demanding $8,500 is posted at the Maroa and Shaw spot and one of his food trailers is listed for rent on Facebook Marketplace.
• A brief GoFundMe raised $2,400: The fundraiser described financial hardships after losing the Shaw and Maroa location but soon led to a “fundraiser not found” page.
This report was produced with the assistance of a proprietary tool powered by artificial intelligence based on our own originally reported, written and published content. Before publishing, journalists reviewed this content in compliance with McClatchy Media’s AI policy.
