Pawnshop burglars strike anew

Two men who were arrested in connection with a pawnshop burglary in Quezon City more than a week ago may have burglarized another pawnshop, this time taking cash and valuables worth P2.8 million, over the weekend.

An employee discovered the break-in at the branch of Tambunting Pawnshop at the corner of Tandang Sora and Visayas Avenues at around 8:30 a.m. yesterday, according to a report from the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) Station 3.

The pawnshop had been left unattended since 5:30 p.m. last Saturday. The suspects bore a hole through the concrete wall of the pawnshop and once inside, opened the vault using an acetylene torch. The police said the loot included cash and pawned items like jewelry and cellular phones.

Superintendent Marcelino Pedrozo Jr., chief of the QCPD’s Theft and Robbery Investigation Section, said the owner of the house beside the pawnshop identified the suspects as Richard Apaply, 32, and Luis Mariano, 34.

Both men and companion Edgar Uyat were arrested by patrolling policemen before dawn last Sept. 28 after a shop owner saw them escaping with the loot from a tailor shop and an adjacent pawnshop. Pedrozo said the three posted bail last Friday. Citing the account of the owner of the house beside the Tambunting Pawnshop, Pedrozo said Apaply gave a downpayment for the rent of the house last Sept. 24. After that, two other men occupied the house and the owner never saw Apaply again.

However, last Sunday, Mariano arrived and joined the two men who had earlier lived in the rented house. “So it appears that the group gave the down payment but victimized a shop in another area. After they got caught and arrested, they posted bail and (burglarized) the pawnshop that they earlier targeted,” Pedrozo said.