Cops nab 3 suspects, injured guard is 'brains'

It was an inside job after all, but the man initially held by the police for questioning is not among those involved in the Sunday dawn robbery of a gasoline station in Liloan town that resulted to the death of two men and the wounding of another.

Another interesting twist to the story is that the security guard, who is now recovering at the hospital from stab wounds sustained during the heist, is allegedly the mastermind of the robbery and the one who reportedly killed the two men.

Three other suspects were arrested Tuesday night and recovered from them were P60,000, which is believed to be part of the loot estimated to be about P200,000.

Elements of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group 7 (CIDG7) led by Supt. Rex Derilo arrested security guard Reynante Barbero, 27, of barangay Tagubi, Compostela town; cashier Jane Marie Sotilleza of Ponce Compound, barangay Carreta, Cebu City and another pump attendant Martin Ygot, 23, of Masbate who all work at RKS Gasoline Station at sitio Looc, barangay Poblacion, Liloan.

Derilo said the arrest was made possible after cashier Sotilleza called them up and assured that she would cooperate.

Aside for the three, the CIDG is also holding security guard Junrey Tizon, who was reportedly the first one to be attacked by the robbers. 

Tizon suffered a blow to the head and multiple stab wounds.  He is now recuperating at the Don Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center. 

The other guard, who was arrested, said that the stab wounds of Tizon were mostly self inflicted.

Derilo said the cashier supplied the information on when the owner would pick up the money from the gas station.

Upon learning that the robbery will push through that day (Sunday), Derilo said, Sotilleza already separated her cut of P23,000.

She however denied this and explained that she merely hid the large bills somewhere in the office on the instruction of her employers in case of a robbery.

She turned over the P23,000 to her employers when Derilo’s men were already at the site Tuesday night.

An hour later, the arresting group recovered P42,000 from the house of security guard Barbero in barangay Tag-ubi, Compostela town.

Barbero in an interview with the media pointed to Tizon as the brains behind the robbery, which they planned since May.

Killed during the robbery were pump attendants Erwin Pakatang and Jonie Andrecoso.

“Sige syag ingun nga kanindot aning tulison oi, sayon ra kaayo e drop,” Barbero said.

Ygot also said that Tizon was quick to come up with the plan feeling challenged by the accusations by Andrecoso that he stole certain things from the gasoline station.

“Puslan man pasanginlan ta nangawat, maypa tinud-on,” Ygot quoted Tizon.Barbero also agreed with the plan as he was in need of money because his wife is pregnant and is due to deliver the baby next month.

Barbero added that the plan was supposed to be implemented Saturday, but did not push through when the cashier informed them through text that their employer was collecting the money.

Last Sunday, Barbero and Ygot were drinking at the coastal area, when they received a text message from Sotilleza around 9pm that the money is already in the vault.

They then proceeded to the gasoline station and executed the plan.

Tizon, according to Barbero, was the one responsible for turning off the security camera of the main office.

A third pump boy, Jose Kelly Quimson, survived the carnage without a scratch as he hid under the bed.  This led police to initially suspect that he was involved.

Policemen said he will instead be a witness to the crime. — Ferliza C. Contratista with Rey Pasaporte of Banat News/NLQ