A man who initially balked at taking bags of coins from the convenience store he was allegedly robbing eventually took P11,000 worth of them before going to the market to buy food.
According to Jun Veneracion’s report on “24 Oras,” the incident occurred at Sta. Mesa, Manila.
CCTV footage showed the suspect pointing a gun at a store employee and initially refusing the two bags of coins until he was shown an empty cash register.
Footage from two other convenience stores showed that he had two unsuccessful robbery attempts prior to the incident due to the lack of staff.
The suspect, who reportedly served in the military for 23 years before his retirement in 2013, was arrested in Tondo on Friday morning after he went to the market to buy food using the stolen coins.
“Narecover natin sa kanya yung motor na ginamit nya. Narecover din natin ang baril ginamit nya sa sari-saring bala ang nakuha sa kanya,” said Manila Police District Director Police Brigadier General Arnold Thomas Ibay.
(We recovered the motorcycle that he used. We also recovered the gun that he used among the various bullets that we were able to get from him)
“’Yun yung ginamit nya dahil ‘yun nga… kaya sya nanghoholdap dahil wala syang pera. Nakabili sya ng isang kilong fish fillet at dalawang mansanas. ‘Yun ang inuwi n’ya sa pamilya,” said MPS Station 8 Commander Police Lieutenant Colonel Dionelle Brannon.
(That’s what he used because that’s why… he robbed because he had no money. He was able to buy 1 kilo of fish fillet and 2 apples. That’s what he brought home to his family)
Meanwhile, the suspect refused to give any comment.
Police are conducting further investigations regarding his possible involvement in other convenience store robberies.
“Tinitignan din natin na siya ay isang suspect din sa isang robbery din sa isang convenience dito din sa area ng sampaloc na nangyari noong March 3,” said Ibay.
(We’re also looking into the possibility that he’s a suspect in another convenience store robbery in the area of Sampaloc last March 3.)
