Police: Pawnshop robbery well-planned

THE robbery hold-up in one of the pawnshops in Bacolod City is organized and well-planned, Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) spokesman Santiago Rapiz said on Monday.

He said they now have the identity of the suspect but he refused to divulge his name since the operation is still ongoing.

The M. Lhuillier Pawnshops and Jewelries Store at Araneta Street, Barangay 36, Bacolod City was held up in broad daylight by an unidentified robber who took at least P14,000 cash around 11:15 a.m. Saturday.

Investigation showed that while Alma Longno, 47, the pawnshop's branch manager and resident of Fiesta Homes, Barangay Sum-ag, Bacolod City, was entertaining one of their customers at the window, an unidentified suspect wearing a ball cap and motorcycle mask approached her and declared hold-up.

The suspect pointed a .38 caliber revolver at Longno and took the P14,000. The suspect immediately fled using a red motorcycle without a license number.

The said business establishment has no closed circuit television camera or a security guard to secure the area.

Rapiz said they have several witnesses to identify the suspect, and they are now preparing the charges to be filed against him.

He said the suspect was involved in several robbery hold-up incidents in different areas of Bacolod City and was a regular detainee in Bacolod Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.

Rapiz said the suspect managed to post bail on his pending records in at the BCPO, and they are still conducting follow-up operation to apprehend him. (MAP)