Motel raiders strike again in Caloocan

A pair of young lovers lost a cellular phone and cash to two alleged notorious robbers who sneaked into their motel room the other night in Caloocan City.

Suspects Victor Banayad, 26, of F. Pascual Street, and Fernando Fuentes, 27, of 61 Domingo St., Sitio Wawa, Barangay Tangos, were arrested by authorities.

Recovered from the suspects were the Nokia 3310 and P220 of victims Donovan Bautista, 21, of Project 8, Quezon City, and his girlfriend identified only as Liza.

Investigation showed that the victims discovered the theft at around 10:30 p.m. in their room at a motel located on Calle Uno near MacArthur Highway.

The couple immediately reported the incident to the motel management, who in turn, alerted the Mobile Division of the Caloocan City Police Station.

Banayad and Fuentes were arrested at the Bonifacio Circle in Monumento during a follow-up operation. Authorities said the suspects could have sneaked into the couple’s room while they were sleeping.

Police records showed that the young lovers initially refused to file charges against the suspects out of embarrassment and were satisfied with the recovery of their belongings.

They were only convinced to file charges after a certain Jesalem Alayon arrived at the police station and positively identified the suspects as the men who robbed her of her gold bracelet worth P20,000, a Nokia 3210, and some P550 cash in front of the Victory Compound in Monumento on August 17.

Robbery charges were filed against Banayad and Fuentes with the city prosecutor’s office. The two are now detained at the Caloocan City jail.

Meanwhile, the police arrested five suspected members of the "Motorcycle Gang," believed behind robberies and the death of a college student in Mandaluyong City early this year.

The suspects, Bert Yabut, 26, of Tala, Caloocan City; Eduardo Castillo, 54, of Pedro Gil, Sta. Ana, Manila; Bernard Padilla, 32, of Old Panaderos, Manila; Antonio Geralde, 25, of Caloocan City and Benjamin Dimateo, 45, of Sta. Mesa, Manila yielded five short firearms and seven stolen motorcycles, said Superintendent Sakurno Ikbata, Mandaluyong City police chief.

Ikbala presented the suspects yesterday to City Mayor Benhur Abalos, who commended the policemen for a "job well done."

Abalos said the robbers, victimizing people who had just withdrawn big amounts of cash from banks, have been a problem of the city for the past three years.

Ikbala said the suspects were responsible for the death of Dominic Carlo Morato, 21, a computer engineering student of the Don Bosco College last June 3 and the failed slaying of Daniel Barrion, 32, last August 23. Barrion was shot by one of the suspects when he tried to stop the gang members from taking a motorcycle parked along Namayan St., in Barangay Vergara. – Nikko Dizon and Non Alquitran