Police arrest suspected burglar of solon's bakery

ILOILO CITY, Philippines — From an inside job angle, police investigators are now looking into the possibility of a plain random burglary of the bakeshop owned by the family of City Rep. Jerry Treñas.

This came after the police collared yesterday morning one of the alleged suspects in the Carlo’s Bakeshop burglary, identified as Jonathan Nadayag, 27, a native of Iligan City with addresses at Brgy. Rizal Pala-Pala, City Proper district and Brgy. Sta. Filomena, Arevalo town, Iloilo.

Nadayag was caught at a resort in Brgy. Sto. Niño Norte, Arevalo, while stealing cash from the pocket of the resort’s cashier, 18-year-old Rexzel de la Cruz.

Before the act, Nadayag allegedly asked Clinton Villanueva, one of the roomboys, to buy cigarettes for him. When Villanueva left, Nadayag tried to steal the P1,470 cash from the pocket of the dozing cashier who was roused to catch the suspect. With the assistance of a barangay councilman, the two resort employees arrested Nadayag and later turned him over to the Arevalo Police Station.

Senior Supt. Marietto Valerio, Iloilo City Police director, said the arrest of Nadayag was not a mere coincidence. The police already identified him as the suspect in the bakeshop burglary, based on the tipoff from a woman who "bought" the laptop that Nadayag stole from the bakery.

Nadayag sold the laptop for P5,000 to Femia Jamolo, a resident of Rizal Estanzuela, City Proper, who surrendered it to police authorities after she opened its files, with the help of a technician, and saw pictures and documents indicating that it was owned by the Treñas’ family.

Jamolo, who has a policeman brother, immediately turned over the laptop to authorities and described to them the man who sold it to her.

The description fitted the man caught on the bakeshop's CCTV cameras and to Nadayag who was caught later in the resort, said Valerio, adding that there was another suspect identified only as Brono who still remains at large.

Valerio said Nadayag and Brono are members of the Mark Ugdang Robbery Group, which allegedly operates in Iloilo City and in Passi City and the towns of Janiuay and Lambunao. - THE FREEMAN