HEIST SPREE? Police probe link of three robbery cases

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD City – Police Major Reynante Jomocan, head of Police Station 4 here is investigating the link of two robbery cases in his area and the previous incident in the area of Police Station 8.

Jomocan said the same group of armed men on board a sports utility vehicle (SUV) was behind these incidents.

The recent incident was reported in a coffee shop along C. L. Montelibano in Barangay Villamonte here last Tuesday when two unidentified armed men on board an SUV destroyed the padlock of the establishment and allegedly stole a coffee maker worth P5,000, and P1,500 cash.

On February 29, a house was robbed with P419,000 worth of valuables at Barangay Estefania here. Two unidentified armed men entered the house and destroyed the padlock, based on a copy of the closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera footage, while two others were waiting inside an SUV outside the house.

Jomocan said the house owner, who refused to be named for security reasons, and his family were sleeping when it happened.

A copy of the CCTV camera footage showing one of the armed robbers inside the compound of the victim went viral online after it was posted on Facebook.

On February 19, the house of a doctor who is also the brother of a councilor here was robbed with an estimated P1.4 million worth of jewelry, gadgets, and other personal belongings at Barangay Tangub.

He said the perpetrators in these three incidents had the same modus, wherein they would usually do a casing first before striking in the wee hours.

He believed that the perpetrators were part of an organized group but is not classified as an organized crime syndicate with other affiliates.

He said the CCTV can help them identify these perpetrators. He also appealed to the victims to report immediately such cases to hasten the investigation.