2 burglary suspects admit link to valets

MANILA, Philippines - Two suspected burglars, who had keys to different houses and vehicles when they were arrested, confessed to receiving some of the keys from valet parking attendants, police said yesterday.

Edgar Barawel, Bryan Forbes, and Jomel Cruz, all residents of Tondo, Manila, were arrested at Mira Nila Homes in Barangay Pasong Tamo after a botched burglary at around 3 a.m. Wednesday.

In an interview yesterday, two of the suspects admitted that some of the keys were from some valet parking attendants, who would duplicate keys of vehicles entrusted to them while the owners were away.

Superintendent Ronnie Montejo, commander of the Quezon City Police District-Station 3, said the suspects allegedly broke into the house of 65-year-old Herminia Roque by using a bolt cutter.

Roque’s nephew, however, saw them as he was going to the bathroom. The suspects fled using a silver Honda Civic (NQI-640), but subdivision guards stopped them and alerted the police.

Senior Inspector Roberto Razon said the vehicle is supposedly owned by an aunt of one of the suspects. He said they found sticker passes to different subdivisions, a police cap, ATM cards, a wig and a bolt cutter in the car.

According to Razon, if the suspects could not immediately take away the vehicles from the house, they would come back only for the cars with the keys already with them or sell the keys to carjackers.