Saturday, August 18, 2007 Ex-guard took part in heist By Mia E. Abellana & Katrina N. Tabanao Sun.Star Staff Reporters
A FORMER security guard not only tipped a group of robbers about the way money was transferred from the La Nueva Supermart to an armored van, he also participated in the daring midday heist, police said.
The security guard was identified as Danilo Flores, who was sacked from the supermarket about two months ago. He was allegedly the one who pumped bullets into Procoro Esguerra.
Esguerra was escorting Metrobank’s pick-up teller, Grace Maglangit, to the armored van when Flores allegedly shot him in the neck and thigh.
Complaints for robbery with double homicide were filed yesterday against Flores, Casimero “Meloy” Garcia, Cresencio “Bruts” Reguya and two John Does.
Aside from shooting Esguerra, Flores also grabbed the bag of cash from the armored vehicle, said Senior Supt. Patrocinio Comendador in a press conference before the complaints were filed.
Garcia was identified as the one who shot Medard Rama, while Reguya fired warning shots prior to their retreat.
Asked if Flores knew Esguerra, Comendador said it was likely that they knew each other. He believes Flores’ attempt to shoot Esguerra was to hide his identity.
Comendador could not say the reason for Flores’ getting fired from the supermarket but said there were cases filed in coordination with the security agency, Double A.
Two weeks before the heist, he was allegedly seen outside the establishment trying to sell cellular phones.
Comendador said one of the robbery group’s methods was to befriend a security guard of establishments they planned to rob.
Flores’ wife was also reportedly aware of the plan. However, she is not included in the charges because she did not participate in it. She has had no contact with her husband since the heist.
She was one of the persons police sought in their hunt for the robbers.
A total of P2.7 million was taken from the van.
Police have prepared a robbery with double frustrated homicide against the three men.
They have five witnesses against the three.
With the involvement of a former employee, Comendador reiterated to business establishments to always check on their personnel.
He said the best way to prevent getting robbed by their own employees is to “motivate them properly.”
“Give them appropriate incentives. You have to win their loyalty,” he said.
Though the case has been filed, Comendador said the hunt for the three men will go on.
He did not elaborate on the status of the manhunt, but assured that they were checking “all possible places” where the three could be headed.
In her affidavit, teller Maglangit said she was walking toward the armored van carrying a bag full of money when she heard a shot just a few meters away.
When she turned around to verify, she saw a man brandishing a handgun and, seconds later, she heard gunfire.
In her shock, she ran toward the main entrance of the supermarket without realizing that the bag of money she carried had fallen from her grip.
Supermarket employee Nestor Impiales identified Flores, the former security guard, as the one who pulled out a handgun and shot one of the guards in the nape.
Security guard Edgar Adubal of the Mandarin Security Agency also identified Reguya as the one who fired at him when he left the armored van to check what had happened to his companions.
Another witness also identified Garcia as one of the suspects.
