Friday, June 20, 2008 Sumabong charged with robbery on 2007 coop heist
WHILE attending his murder trial, another case was filed against Joel Sumabong.
He was charged with robbery for a 2007 incident involving a cooperative in Talamban, Cebu City.
Sumabong was charged together with Efren Beladas and an unidentified companion.
They were accused of robbing two customers of the People’s Multi-Purpose Cooperative at Borbajo St., Talamban, Cebu City on Jan. 3, 2007.
They allegedly held customers and employees of the cooperative at gunpoint.
Sumabong and company allegedly ran away with close to P60,000 in cash and stolen items.
Items
Two cellular phones worth P4,300 were stolen and cash amounting to P55,354.
Witnesses positively identified Sumabong and Beladas through the police rogues’ gallery.
The suspects though failed to controvert evidence at the prosecutor’s level so the complaint was resolved based on the evidence submitted by the complainant.
Rossyl Morado, the cooperative’s credit and collection officer, submitted an affidavit identifying Suma-bong and Beladas as two of the perpetrators of the robbery at her workplace.
Two others made the same identification through separate affidavits.
Other case
Sumabong and Beladas are also facing a robbery-in-band case for the P9.4-million heist of a Bogo City branch of the Land Bank of the Philippines. Sumabong was said to be the leader of the robbery group.
Nine others were charged with them.
Sumabong is also related to the alleged gunman of lawyer Richard Sison, Nemuel Sumabong.
Yesterday, Joel Sumabong appeared in the hearing of his murder case before Regional Trial Court (RTC) Judge Macaundas Hadjirasul of branch 8.
The robbery-in-band case is pending before RTC branch 12 presided by Judge Estella Alma-Singco. (JGA)
