An Albert Lea man whose store was found carrying more than 750 pirated movies was sentenced in Freeborn County District Court on Monday to one year of probation and a fine for allowing the movies to be distributed in the store.

According to court documents, an undercover agent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement discovered the movies at the El Padrino store in Albert Lea in October 2010.

At the time the agent came into the store, owner Ruben Hernandez-Ruiz, 51, was asleep in another room and his son, Omar Hernandez-Sanchez, 23, was tending the store.

The agent reportedly purchased four DVDs from Hernandez-Sanchez, none of which had yet been legally released for sale on DVD. The movies were being sold for $5 each and “appeared by their packaging, labeling and general appearance to be obvious counterfeits,” according to court documents.

Four hours later, a search warrant was executed on the store, and 780 counterfeit DVDs were seized.

In court on Monday, Freeborn County District Court Judge Ross Leuning sentenced Hernandez-Ruiz for his role in the incident.

He ordered the man to a one-year supervised probation followed by a one-year unsupervised probation, along with $580 in fines and court costs.

If Hernandez-Ruiz violates the terms of his probation he faces a potential of 179 days in the Freeborn County jail.

He must have no counterfeit or prohibited material during his probation.

Hernandez-Sanchez was sentenced earlier in the month to a similar sentence, involving three years probation and Sentence to Service.