Armored van guard charged in ATM heist

ON THE basis of circumstantial evidence, including what investigators turned up during a background check, the police have filed charges against the security guard of the armored van which lost P6.2 million in cash to two robbers in Manila last week.

PO3 Rodel Benitez of the Manila Police District theft and robbery section said that robbery and qualified theft charges were filed against Jessie dela Cruz on Friday in the Manila Prosecutor’s Office.

Dela Cruz—with automated teller machine (ATM) technician Arnold Marollano and driver Rizal de Daulo—was part of a three-man crew sent to reload the ATM of the Bank of the Philippine Islands branch in Ermita, Manila.

The security guard who was carrying a shotgun and 9-mm pistol said that one of the robbers pointed a gun at his nape and he immediately gave up his firearms because he did not want to die. He also told police investigators that he did not see what type of firearms the two robbers were carrying.

Benitez said they based the case against Dela Cruz on several factors, including the testimony of several witnesses, including Marollano, which conflicted with that of the security guard.

“There were many inconsistencies like the declaration of a holdup. According to the teller technician, there was no declaration of a holdup at all. The robbers just hit his head and took the money,” Benitez told the Inquirer.

A background check of Dela Cruz also raised a red flag after it showed that he owned a sport utility vehicle while he and his wife—a businesswoman—managed a fleet of passenger jeepneys.

Dela Cruz, in an earlier interview with Inquirer, had insisted on his innocence and demanded that the owner of the armored van, G4S Cash Solutions, should be the one investigated. “They knew our whereabouts,” he said. –Aie Balagtas See