Treñas hopes pawnshop heist not election-related
Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas hopes that the ransacking of a pawnshop owned and managed by his wife is not an election-related case. He said he will have to check on the report of the Jaro Police Station and the Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO).
Treñas said his wife Rosalie was alarmed when she opened the store and saw all the jewelries being displayed in the rack gone. The SOCO is on the process of taking fingerprints left on the crime scene.
The chief executive also said he has made communications to OIC city police director Supt. Eugenio Espejo since Sr. Supt. Melvin Mongcal is on leave.
Four suspects believed to be members of a notorious Acetylene Gang yesterday carted away some P400,000 worth of jewelries from R. Sarabia Pawnshop located at E. Lopez Street, Jaro district.
Chief Inspector Orly Gabinete said the suspects, using an electric drill, destroyed portions of one room located in the second floor of the store cum boarding house so they could reach the first floor where the pawnshop is located.
The four suspects have rented two rooms in the boarding house. They occupied the rooms since January 26 before they robbed the pawnshop, said Gabinete.
The boarding house’s caretaker identified as Benjie said he could recognize two of the four suspects who first rented one room. The two other suspects later followed. They are Tagalog-speaking and posed as workers at Gaisano City.
The suspects only brought a bag and mat when they rented the two rooms. He is not definite on whether the suspects brought along with them an acetylene tank when they are already occupying the rooms.
He said his mother already doubted the two suspects when they first wanted to rent a room that is directly aligned with the pawnshop. His mother’s suspicion was eased when the suspects agreed to occupy the next room. Only women boarders are allowed to inhabit the room in the upper portion of the pawnshop.
The caretaker further said one of his boarders, whom he did not identify, saw the suspects lighting something and trying to unlock a door. However, the said boarder came back to his room because of fear.