Burglar arrested after returning to rob victim’s home again

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By Jennifer P. Rendon

Second time is not the charm

A suspected burglar, identified only as alias DJ, was arrested after returning to a house in Riverville Subdivision, Barangay Yulo Drive, Arevalo, Iloilo City, to steal more items.

For several days, the suspect managed to enter and exit the unoccupied home without being detected. Gradually, he took several belongings from the house.

However, on the evening of September 4, the homeowners—48-year-old Lury and her seafarer husband—visited the house and discovered that many of their belongings were missing.

The couple, who use the residence as a halfway home as they now live in Oton town, immediately reported the incident to the Iloilo City Police Station 6 (ICPS6).

Captain Benjie Dicen, chief of ICPS6, said investigators devised a plan to catch the suspect. “We were expecting him to return to take more items,” Dicen explained.

A barangay tanod (village watchman) was stationed near the house to conduct surveillance. As anticipated, the 24-year-old suspect, a resident of Barangay Sto. Niño Norte, Arevalo, returned the next morning.

The tanod intercepted the suspect as he exited the house around 10:50 a.m. on September 5.

Dicen said the suspect was initially arrested for trespassing but later admitted to stealing several items from the home and selling them to a junk shop.

The stolen items included an electric motor worth P12,000, a water pump valued at P2,500, a gas tank worth P1,200, an exhaust blower worth P8,000, electric wires valued at P120,000, three electric fans worth P7,000, and a gas range worth P23,000.

The suspect is currently detained, pending the filing of formal charges against him.