6 charged for gas station robbery

Criminal complaints for robbery and double homicide was filed yesterday against six people including the security guard who confessed to robbing and killing two pump attendants of RKS Gasoline Station in barangay Poblacion, Liloan last Monday.

The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-7 filed the case against Martin Ygot, Reynante Barbero, Jhonrey Tizon, Albet Allava, Ronald Necessario and Jane Marie Sotelliza before the Cebu Provincial Prosecutors’ Office.

The complaint was based on the affidavits of Rolan Zanoria, owner of the gasoline station, and the confessions of Barbero, Ygot and Sotelliza.

Barbero, one of the security guards of the gasoline station, and Ygot, a pump boy, confessed to their involvement to the crime and tagged the other respondents as cohorts.

Ygot and Barbero said that they, together with Tizon, Allava, Sotelliza and Necessario planned the robbery of the gasoline station where they are working.

They tagged Sotelliza as the alleged mastermind who approached them sometime in the first week of June, asking if they are interested of the money from the gasoline station.

Barbero said he and Sotelliza planned the robbery at the roof deck of the gasoline station. Sotelliza allegedly gave the cellular phone of Allava to Barbero for them to have constant communication.

The security guard added that Sotelliza asked him to look for somebody who will serve his back up because there are pump boys sleeping inside the establishment. Barbero said he told Sotelliza that he will ask Necessario, a former security guard of the gasoline station, to be his back up.

Barbero added that Sotelliza also told him that she will ask her boyfriend, Allava, to help them. The planning went on including on how to switch off the security camera during the actual robbery.

Barbero said he was also able to convince Tizon, the night shift guard, to join the plan. Barbero said that their original plan was to execute the robbery on a Saturday, however it did not push through because the money deposited in the vault was already collected.

On the following day, they were able to execute the plan because the earnings on Sunday were not picked up.

Ygot and Barbero said that Allava joined them while they were on their way to the gasoline station at about 1:20 dawn of Monday.

Allava allegedly positioned himself near the cashier. Barbero said when he saw Necessario, wearing black hat with a covered cloth on his face, nodding he immediately signaled the guard on duty to switch off the security camera.

Tizon allegedly entered the room where Erwin Pacatang and Jonie Anricuso, the two pump boys who died during the incident, were sleeping.

Anricuso was allegedly awakened prompting Tizon to hit him several times using his shot gun. Pacatang was also awaken by the commotion and attempted to rise up but was likewise beaten.

The other pump boy, Kelly Quimson, escaped because he was able to hide himself from the robbers. After getting the money contained in the bag, he immediately struck Tizon with a piece of wood supposedly to conceal the crime.

Barbero said he immediately brought the money to a shanty near their house in Tag-ube, Compostela as what they have planned earlier. After the incident, he added that they rested for a while before returning to the gasoline station to report for work.

Sotelliza on the other hand tagged Ygot and Barbero as the alleged mastermind. According to her, sometimes in the second week of July she was approached by Ygot and told of their plan to rob the gasoline station.

Sotelliza said that she just smiled thinking that the plan was just a joke. However, Ygot was allegedly persistent in convincing her to join the plan but repeatedly refused it.

Sotelliza claimed that Ygot has personal motive in killing Anricuso because the latter always accused him every time a property belonging to the gas station is missing. Sotelliza added that Barbero is also in need of money because his wife is pregnant.

Sotelliza however admitted that she knew the plan because Ygot and Barbero texted her that they are already executing the plan. When she reported for work, Sotelliza said she already saw her co-employees dead.

The owner of the gasoline station said that a total of P254,000 have been stolen from his establishment. The police however recovered part of the loot in the amount of P50,339.   — Fred P. Languido/WAB