The complainants point at the suspect (center, in handcuffs) and the stolen rice bags. Photo by STEVE A. GOSUICO.
CCTV footage helps cops nab rice ‘thief’
Suspect caught wearing same clothes in footage of heist
GAPAN CITY – More than five hours after the burglary took place, police here nabbed a 30-year-old collector tagged in the theft of four sacks of rice inside a store on early Sunday morning here.
City police head Lt. Col. Wilmar M. Binag said the suspect’s whereabouts were tracked down after reviewing the footage of the closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera obtained from the crime scene.
He said the robbery took place at the house of a female victim, 37, of Purok 1, Barangay Mangino, at 3 a.m., March 5, 2023.
She complained that a lone suspect barged inside her store by breaking its doors and then carted away four sacks of 25-kilo rice using a black Honda Wave motorcycle with an MV file number attached.
Binag said his probers traced the numbers, leading to the suspect’s identification and arrest at his hideout during follow-up operations in a subdivision at Bgy. Mangino at 8:20 a.m., or more than five hours after the heist.
He said the suspect, who is a native of Dau, Pampanga, was nabbed while still wearing the same clothing: long sleeves, shorts, and slippers, used during the robbery as shown in the CCTV footage.
The stolen four sacks of rice were recovered, while the suspect’s motorcycle and cal. 38 revolver were seized with five bullets.
Charges for robbery and violation of Republic Act 10591 (Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act) are already inquest-filed against the suspect before the city prosecutor’s office here.
