HOLDUP me?
Lieutenant Joseph Jaro, deputy police chief for operations of Bago City Police Station, told SunStar Bacolod Wednesday, December 1, that they doubt the claims of a soft drinks delivery boy that he was robbed.
Joemar Cortez, 41, of Barangay Poblacion, Bago City said he was changing the tires of his multicab near Santa Catalina Subdivision in Barangay Lag-asan in the city around 6:30 p.m. Monday, November 29, when two men held him up at knifepoint.
Cortez said one of the suspects took his sling bag containing an undetermined amount of cash collection.
While the suspects were counting the money inside the bag, Cortez said he tried to grab it back, but one of them stabbed him in the neck and fled with his companion.
Jaro noted several inconsistencies in Cortez’s statements, prompting them to think that he might have made up the robbery incident.
Jaro said they did not find any spare tire that contradicts Cortez’s claims that he was changing his tire when he was robbed.
Meanwhile, the employees of the shop where the delivery boy supposedly had his tires vulcanized prior to the incident denied meeting him, he said.
The police also wondered why Cortez opted to ask help from the bystanders far from the area where he was held up instead of seeking assistance from residents at the nearby subdivision.
Jaro also said the sling bag that the robbers supposedly took was still in Cortez’s possession as opposed to what he had claimed, adding that when they opened it, they found more or less P5,000 in cash.
“So if he was really robbed, why would the suspects leave some amount?” Jaro asked.
It is possible that it was Cortez himself who took the money, Jaro said, adding that the wound on his neck could be self-inflicted.
Further investigation also showed that Cortez was a former drug surrenderer, the police official said.
Authorities are now coordinating with the employer of Cortez for possible filing of qualified theft charges considering that all the evidence leads to him being the actual suspect.