MANILA, Philippines Police arrested two college students on Monday night for breaking into the room of a police colonel and stealing cash and jewelry worth P600,000 in Ermita, Manila.
Police identified only one of the suspects because the other one is only 16 years old.
Arrested was Ivan Ocampo, 20, a resident of Caloocan City and reportedly a third year Hotel and Restaurant Management student at the La Consolacion College in that city.
The minor suspect, a resident of Pasay City, is said to be BS Marine Transportation freshman student of the Philippine Merchant Marine School (PMMS).
The two students allegedly broke into Room 18-A at the Pearl of the Orient Condominium on Roxas Boulevard, Ermita, at 5:30 p.m. last Monday.
The room was occupied by Superintendent Clifford Gairanod, a 40-year-old cop, and his brother Al Jose Gairanod, a 33-year trader who lives in Cebu City.
The cop is detailed at the Training Services of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City.
The police officer said he left the room to jog along Baywalk on Roxas Boulevard. But after a few minutes, he decided to return to the room.
The two students were placed under the custody of the Manila Police District Theft and Robbery Section (MPD-TRS) following the complaint of Superintendent Clifford Gairanod, 40, married, detailed
Chief Inspector Benigno Macalindong, chief of the MPD-TRS,
As he was walking toward his room, he saw one of the suspects, the younger one, coming out of his room. He accosted him and asked why he came entered his room.
Gairanod noticed that the padlock of his room was destroyed. He grabbed the suspects hands.
As he was holding the suspect, he checked on his room and noticed that following items missing P500,000 in cash, a DVD Camera worth P41,000, a Nokia N95 cell phone worth P31,000, Nokia 6300 cell phone worth P3,500, and jewelry worth P70,000.
The police superintendent arrested the teenager and took him the Theft and Robbery Section of the Manila Police District headquarters.
Under interrogation, the boy tagged Ocampo, the HRM student, as his cohort, and led the police to a gasoline station on Macapagal Avenue in Pasay City, where they arrested the older suspect at about 11:30 p.m. on Monday.
Ocampo denied the allegation and insisted on not knowing the younger suspect.
But the 16-year-old said it was Ocampo who broke into the room using an improvised key and that he only served as a lookout. - GMANews.TV