Holdup men charged
SECOND BHF PAWNSHOP HEIST IN 2 YEARS
CASES of robbery in band, attempted homicide and grave assault against nine persons, three of whom were already identified, have been filed by the Dagupan police in connection with the noon-day robbery holdup at BHF Pawnshop and Gemline on A.B. Fernandez Avenue here on May 31.
P/Sr. Supt. Sterling Raymond Blanco, officer-in-charge at the Police Provincial Office (PPO), named the three as Jomel Montemar Tamalla, Bernard Tolentino Pating alias “Ogie”, and Ephraim John Cavanero Evangelista alias “Paeng”, who were caught by the CCTV camera as among the first to enter the shop.
“With the identification of the group and the members responsible and the filing of cases against them, we could consider this case as solved,” said P/Supt. Christopher Abrahano, chief of the Dagupan police during the KBP forum in Dagupan last week.
Mayor Belen T. Fernandez, for her part, praised the police force for working overtime to identify the suspects.
Fernandez also cited the effectiveness of an interdiction plan, also known as B.E.L.E.N. 911, a program she and Abrahano initiated to establish a concerted and unified effort among the police, the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Center (CDRRMC) and the Public Order and Safety Office (POSO) for emergencies and urgent concerns.
Investigation showed the robbery suspects are known to belong to the notorious Brunsuela or Gaga holdup gang operating in Metro Manila whose members are mostly from the Visayas and Mindanao.
Blanco gave assurance that the police are not stopping in their efforts to identify the other members of the group and arrest all the culprits in the heist that claimed the life of one of their members.
The three were identified following a close coordination among operatives of the Provincial Intelligence Branch of the PPO with their counterparts in the National Capitol Regional Police Office.
Abrahano said a breakthrough in the case was made when investigators found out that the four get-away motorcycles used by the suspects and which they abandoned in Sitio Guibang, Barangay Pantal, were all registered in Metro Manila, except one which was registered in Laguna.
3RD GUARD
The member of the criminal group, who was armed with an Armalite rifle and shot dead by one of BHF’s security guards, has been identified as Alfred Conde Mondares, alias “Junjun Dafu”, whose body has been claimed by relatives.
He was shot by the security guard who was on a lunch break at the second floor of the building. The other two security guards on duty had been disarmed earlier by the group.
The firing of the shotgun by the security guard immediately caused panic and confusion among the suspects, prompting them to fire blindly at the hidden guard before they rushed out of the establishment.
It was the 22-year old security guard, whose identity was withheld, who also alerted the police of the robbery.
“We would like to commend the security guards of BHF Pawnshop for the vigilance and bravery they showed in the face of adversary and our patrollers as well for their quick response,” said Abrahano.
Abrahano believes some of the fleeing suspects were wounded as evidenced by bloodstains in the recovered get-away motorcycles.
In their rush to get out, the robbers left behind a bag of jewelry but were still able to cart away some P3.5 million of valuables based on an inventory conducted by the management of the pawnshop.
INTERDICTION PLAN
Abrahano said policemen responded five minutes after the first shot was fired, executing an interdiction drill he put in place. The suspects, however, managed to slip through the dragnet by boarding a waiting van upon reaching Jose R. de Venecia Expressway.
Abrahano said the heist validated the need to improve their interdiction plan.
Blanco said the Gaga gang modus operandi has similarities with the so-called “Martilyo” Gang, which is believed responsible for the robbery holdup that took place at the downtown Dagupan branch of BHF Pawnshop and Gemline in 2012.
But Abrahano clarified that they are studying if they were done by one and the same group.
A hammer was used in both incidents but Abrahano said they are inclined to believe that “There is no Martilyo Gang. Martilyo or hammer is only a modus operandi of this kind of robbery holdup group.”–LVM, Hilda Martin Austria and Tita Roces
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