Man Sentenced in Menards Theft Case

(GERING, Neb.) — A 26-year-old Scottsbluff man was sentenced to 180 days in jail after pleading no contest to a reduced felony shoplifting charge involving thousands of dollars in stolen merchandise.

According to an affidavit filed by the Scottsbluff Police Department, officers responded to Menards at 2401 Delta Drive on April 8, 2026, regarding ongoing theft reports. Store employees told officers that two men — identified as Gustavo Espinosa, also known as Gustavo Espinosa Castro, and a coworker — had allegedly been repeatedly shoplifting building materials over several weeks for their roofing company.

Surveillance video showed Espinosa and his associate placing items in a cart and leaving the store without paying before loading the merchandise into an enclosed trailer attached to a company truck.

Espinosa was initially charged with theft by shoplifting of more than $5,000, a Class 2A felony. Under a plea agreement negotiated between Deputy County Attorney Paul Payne and defense attorney William C. Peters Jr., the state filed an amended information reducing the charge to theft by shoplifting of between $1,500 and $4,999, a Class 4 felony.

During a hearing Sept. 16, 2026, in Scotts Bluff County District Court, Espinosa appeared with defense counsel and entered a no-contest plea to the amended charge.

District Court Judge Leo Dobrovolny accepted the plea, waived the presentence investigation and sentenced Espinosa to 180 days in jail, with credit for 161 days already served.

Court records state that court costs were waived because Espinosa had served additional jail time. Probation was deemed inappropriate because an Immigration and Customs Enforcement hold remains in place.

Espinosa was ordered to provide a DNA sample before his release from local custody.