A 41-year-old restaurant owner in rural Fountain County, Indiana, is being held without bond on charges of promoting human labor trafficking and harboring unauthorized workers at his Agave Azul restaurants, after investigators say he also admitted knowing about sexual misconduct involving his employees and lied to detectives about it. Jose Lopez was arrested following search warrants executed at multiple Agave Azul locations in Covington and Attica.
The investigation began after customers complained that employees at the restaurants were harassing them, according to KSNV. Indiana State Police arrested Lopez and allege he gave false information during the investigation. Per the outlet's reporting, Lopez faces promotion of human labor trafficking, harboring or transporting illegal aliens, obstruction of justice involving child abuse, assisting a criminal, failure to report, and false informing. He reportedly admitted he was aware of sexual misconduct and sexual battery incidents involving his employees.
Court records reviewed by the station indicate a 19-year-old employee, Carlos Gjeronimo of Covington, was also arrested and booked on a preliminary charge of sexual misconduct with a minor. Indiana State Police reported that detectives arrested a third suspect as well, 29-year-old Dani Hernandez of Covington, on preliminary charges of false informing and aggressive harassment, according to a WBIW report tied to the same restaurant investigation.
A Coordinated, Multi-Agency Raid
The arrest and search warrants were carried out on September 14, involving a coordinated response from the Indiana State Police, the Fountain County Sheriff's Department, the Covington Police Department, and the Attica Police Department, WBIW reported. The scale of the response reflects the seriousness with which investigators treated the initial harassment complaints once they escalated into a broader criminal probe.
The Indiana State Police Lafayette District is mentioned in connection with the investigation. The district holds state law enforcement jurisdiction across eight west-central Indiana counties, including Fountain County, and is headquartered in West Lafayette, per the Indiana State Police.
What the Charges Could Mean
Promotion of human labor trafficking is one of the charges in the case.
Harboring or transporting illegal aliens is another charge Lopez faces. Federal law is not addressed in the cited reports.
Obstruction of justice involving child abuse is listed as a felony charge against Lopez. Lopez also faces misdemeanor counts including false informing and failure to report.
Small Towns, Big Case
Covington and Attica are the two main population centers in Fountain County, a rural stretch of western Indiana along the Wabash River. Covington has roughly 2,700 to 3,000 residents and Attica has around 3,000 to 3,300, according to STATS Indiana, in a county with a total population of about 17,000 — making this case an outsized event for the small communities where the Agave Azul restaurants operated.
Lopez is currently being held without bond at the Fountain County Jail as the investigation continues. It remains unclear whether federal agencies will pursue parallel charges, and the condition and status of the employees identified during the investigation has not been detailed publicly.
No connection between this case and another Agave Azul business is established here; the cited WTHR report does not establish one.
