Suspected burglar foiled by alert aunt

MANILA, Philippines - A burglary suspect was arrested Tuesday afternoon after a woman noticed him going out of her niece’s house in Barangay Central, Quezon City.

Nelly Conde, whose house is beside that of her niece, Susan Lagahit, accosted the suspect, Francisco Lausin, as he was walking out of the gate. Lagahit was not at home at the time.

“He (suspect) said he was a relative. And so I told him: ‘What relative? I’m her aunt! I don’t know you,’” Conde said in Filipino.

She called the Patrol 117 police hotline to report the fleeing suspect, who was caught by Superintendent Marcelino Pedrozo Jr., commander of Quezon City Police District (QCPD) Station 10, and his team at past 2 p.m.

Pedrozo said Lausin, 41, could not deny the burglary since he was carrying the destroyed padlocks from Lagahit’s house.

Police officers also seized a laptop computer and three cell phones as well as a .38 caliber handgun, a bolt cutter, a chisel, two pairs of pliers and a crowbar from Lausin.

QCPD chief Senior Superintendent Richard Albano said Lausin roamed the community, carrying his backpack. “He looked just like a resident of the area,” Albano said of the suspect.

He said Lausin was linked to several other crimes, including a street robbery, and had jumped bail in two pending robbery cases.

Pedrozo also said a woman went to the station Tuesday night, tagging Lausin in a recent street robbery.