Robber to spend Christmas in prison for the sixth time

For the sixth time, an alleged notorious robber and a snatcher will be spending his Christmas in the city jail after he was arrested by members of the Theft and Robbery Section after robbing a woman last November 30 at the corner of M.J. Cuenco and Gen. Maxilom avenues in barangay Carreta.

Glenn “Bulldog” Matondo, 22, of barangay Carreta, was arrested last Friday after concerned citizens spotted him loitering in sitio Ponce of the said barangay.  Matondo is said to operate mainly in Carreta and the pier area, snatching and robbing jeepneys plying in these areas.

Earlier that day Matondo robbed a woman and took her cellular phone and silver bracelet, according to TRS chief Sr. Insp. Michael Anthony Bastes.

Upon receiving reports of his presence in the area, SPO4 Isagani Pugoy and his team proceeded to the area and arrested Matondo who was found with an icepick and a pack of shabu.

Matondo admitted robbing the woman and guided the policemen where he sold the cellphone and the bracelet.

Matondo told The Freeman that he has spent the past five Christmases in jail as he has always been arrested in November or early December since then.

Bastes said he arrested Matondo last November 2006 and twice this year for the same offenses.

The suspect was also accused of shooting his neighbor Anthony Tajanlangit, 23, November last year, after the victim scolded him for stealing from someone in their neighborhood.

While Matondo admitted to shooting Tajanlangit he denied he stole something that time.  He claimed he shot Tajanlangit to get revenge after the latter and his friends chased him with knives after accusing him of theft.

Bastes called on burglary and pickpocket victims to visit their office after they found more than 20 wallets from a rented room in Banawa, barangay Guadalupe.

The said wallets were discovered by the house owner recently and reported the find to the TRS after one of his tenants did not come back to his rented room after more than a month prompting them to forcibly open the room.

The suspect, whose identity is withheld by the police for now, is said to be a pickpocket and burglar.  Among those documents found in the wallets were the Social Security System IDs of Marinel Tan and Charina Makiling and the driver’s licenses of Maria Florentina Fonacier and Anthony Yang.

Meanwhile, three police officers of the Cebu City Police Office were awarded the Medalya ng Papuri by the Police Regional Office-7 for arresting Alfredo Tabapa Jr., the 5th most wanted man in Region 10.

Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Division chief George Ylanan, TRS chief Michael Bastes and police inspector Eileen Recla of CIIB were awarded the medals by deputy regional director for administration Sr. Supt. Federico Terte yesterday morning at the regional police headquarters during the oath-taking ceremony of the new PNP recruits.  — Edwin Ian Melecio and Garry B. Lao/BRP