A Denver man and woman pleaded guilty today to using a landmark Five Point restaurant to fence stolen cigarettes and TVs, prosecutors said.
Saalim Muhammed, 69, and Renee McKinnon, 50, each face two to six years in prison when they’re sentenced on Jan. 3, according to the Denver District Attorney’s Office. They each agreed to plead guilty to felony theft by receiving.
Prosecutors allege they bought and sold stolen goods from a Zona’s Tamales stand at 713 E. 26th Ave. Muhammed mother and the stand’s owner, Zona Moore, 85, pleaded guilty earlier this year to a misdemeanor count of theft by receiving and received a 90-day suspended sentence, pending completion of a year of probation.
Zona’s Tamales closed last month after 40 years in Five Points.
Moore was arrested in July 22. She was accused of buying and selling stolen cigarettes and purchasing stolen televisions from an undercover Denver police officer.
Police began investigating the business in June after reports about crack cocaine in the area. Moore refused to cooperate with the investigation by closing the business at midnight instead of 3 a.m., saying she couldn’t afford to lose the late-night business, police said at the time of her arrest.
