WHISPERS and soil rolling down from a steep hill at the back of the Capitol water laboratory facility caught a guard’s attention at 4:30 a.m. yesterday. He trained his flashlight and caught two men scrambling.
With a back-up and a drawn firearm, security guard Dennis Goden, 30, caught 45-year-old Lester Algarme Carlo Labra allegedly in possession of a computer central processing unit (CPU).
The CPU bore a sticker with “Property of the Provincial Government” written on it.
Labra is an employee of the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office.
Labra’s companion, a 15-year-old boy, escaped. The arrested suspect refused to identify the minor.
The Capitol’s water and clinical laboratory facility is located at the foot of the hill where Villalon Mansion sits. The hill’s slope has been cut vertically to accommodate the construction of the facility’s wall.
“Iyang storya nangahoy kuno siya, ngitngit pa man. Nanguha kuno siya og kaka, wa man siyay flashlight (He said he was just collecting firewood, but it was still dark. He said he was trying to find spiders, but he had no flashlight),” said Goden, adding that he found the CPU covered by the suspect’s T-shirt.
Labra is now detained at the Police Station 2.
Yvonne Cariñosa, Provincial Health Office laboratory head, confirmed that a break-in happened in their stock room.
There were also missing light bulbs at the back of the facility.
She said that she is waiting for the report of property custodian Maven Casiban, who was on leave yesterday, on the inventory of missing items.
Joy Ocañada, city prosecutor’s office administration head, confirmed that Labra is a permanent employee working as their process server.