Pawnshop alarm foils rob try in Caloocan

The incessant wail of a security alarm sent would-be robbers scampering for safety in a botched heist pulled on a pawnshop minutes after midnight yesterday in Caloocan City.

In their haste, the unidentified suspects left the tools they used even as an inventory is being made to determine if there were anything missing or lost at the pawnshop.

PO2 Arnel de Guzman, officer-on-case, said the Villafuente Pawnshop which occupied Unit D1 of the Sangandaan Plaza in Sangandaan, Caloocan City was broken into at around 12:30 a.m. yesterday.

The pawnshop is reportedly owned and managed by Marshal Quipayo, 34, a resident of Bisig ng Nayon, Sangandaan, Caloocan City.

Quipayo told probers he was awakened by the pawnshop’s alarm which was electronically diverted to his cell phone.

De Guzman said three men were spotted by security guard Roy Martinez, 24, of the Unisave Security Agency, running away from the scene shortly after the alarm sounded.

Investigation showed the still unidentified suspects allegedly rented Unit D4, a vacant room for lease at the back of the pawnshop, at 7 a.m. the previous day, a Sunday.

Reports said the suspects gained entry by digging a hole from their rented unit’s floor and opening a hole into the concrete wall at the second floor separating it from the pawnshop.

The witness told probers the suspects left in a hurry, leaving assorted tools they used in breaking into the pawnshop scattered on the floor.

The suspects bolted the place after accidentally triggering the alarm connected to the steel safety deposit vault.