‘Pajero Lady’ recaptured in Makati

Ten months after escaping from the Correctional Institute for Women (CIW) by fooling security personnel into bringing her to the hospital where she managed to give them the slip, Ma. Lourdes de Guzman, tagged as the Pajero Lady, has been recaptured in Makati City.

She was nabbed before midnight last Monday, minutes after she was caught in the act of robbing a house in Barangay Bel-Air.

Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay presented the suspect to media yesterday, along with the pieces of jewelry she allegedly took from the house of Jose Ching, 61, who, along with his family, was supposed to fly to China for a vacation.

But a problem with the availability of seats for nine persons made him decide on to cancel the trip and return to their house.

When he opened the door, he saw De Guzman in the act of grabbing expensive items in a rush.

Makati City Police Department (MCPD) chief Senior Superintendent Marietto Valerio said the suspect tried to flee, but was overpowered by members of the Ching family.

Elusive suspect

De Guzman, who also goes by the names Mary Josephine Roque Garcia, Marilou De Guzman, and Anna Marie Valerie Vejunco, is a smart and elusive criminal.

Senior Inspector Gary Reyes, chief of the MCPD’s Homicide Division, said she earned the name Pajero Lady because she often uses a Mitsubishi Pajero in her heists.

But this time, De Guzman was caught with a black Toyota Innova owned by her son. It was parked several meters from the Ching residence.

Reyes said the Chinese family was the suspect’s second victim that night. She also stole jewelry from the house of one Bienvenido Banaag at the same subdivision.

De Guzman was arrested in Quezon City in May 2005. Police said she underwent plastic surgery after faking her death.

Before her arrest and the escape, the suspect attempted to evade car theft and robbery charges three years ago after faking her own death.In January 2003, police found a burned vehicle in Norzagaray, Bulacan. A body, charred beyond recognition, was inside the vehicle.A man claimng to be De Guzman’s husband later went to police and identified the body as that of his wife.

The fake death was revealed after De Guzman was arrested in 2005. Her identity was established following finger print verification by the PNP crime laboratory.

A month after she was sent to jail, she fooled her jail officers into bringing her to the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City where she escaped.

At yesterday’s presentation, De Guzman refused to answer questions and kept shielding her face with a handkerchief.

Three cellular phones were seized from her possession along with a lady’s wallet containing cash, ATM cards, a driver’s license, and other IDs that were not hers.

Binay said he is curious as to how De Guzman was able to enter a house inside a highly secure village.

De Guzman, who is yet to finish her 20-year sentence at the CIW, will be slapped with new charges of robbery before the Makati City Prosecutor’s Office.