Twin brothers arrested over hit-and-run, other cases

Police have found out that twin brothers were involved in the hit-and-run involving a car that mowed down a female tourist, who was walking with a female friend on the shoulder of Beach Road, and in several robbery cases victimizing tourists in Marpi and in Garapan.

Police said upon arrest in connection with the hit-and-run incident, Vicente LaatMan Muna, 22, and Anthony LaatMan Muna, 22, made a confession of their involvement to the case and also admitted to other robbery cases in Marpi and Garapan.

The confession led investigators to recover some of the stolen items belonging to the tourists that the Muna brothers threw away in the bushes.

Department of Public Safety crash investigator Sgt. Norris Kwon said during an interview last June 11, the Muna brothers confessed they were smoking marijuana inside a car prior to attempting to snatch the purse of the tourist, who was walking with a friend on Beach Road near Mascot Auto Parts in southern Garapan.

Kwon said Anthony Muna admitted he was the driver of the car and that he had smoked six joints of marijuana that morning shortly after the hit-and-run incident.

The Muna twins were arrested on charges of attempted robbery, conspiracy to attempted robbery, driving on highways laned for traffic, driving on right side of highway, reckless driving, driving under the influence of drugs, and accident.

In a separate case, Vicente LaatMan Muna was arrested on two counts of conspiracy to theft, theft, criminal mischief, and burglary, while Anthony LaatMan Muna, 22, was arrested on charges of two counts of conspiracy to theft, and one count of theft.

Vicente Muna was served with an arrest warrant last Thursday afternoon in As Lito, while his brother Anthony Muna was arrested on the same afternoon in Chalan Kiya.

At a hearing last Friday, Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho imposed $50,000 cash bail each on defendants for the robbery cases.

Camacho imposed $25,000 cash bail each on defendants for the hit-and-run case.

Preliminary hearing will be on July 20 at 1:30pm for both cases.

In the hit-and-run case, DPS received a call about the incident last June 8 at 1:31pm, in which a dark color four-door sedan struck one of the two female tourists who were walking on the northbound shoulder of Beach Road.

The victim suffered multiple abrasions to the body and closed head injuries.

Kwon said a further review of the surveillance footages of the incident showed the right side of headlamp of the car had damage due to the collision.

Kwon said the footage also showed that the front passenger attempted to snatch the tourist’s purse, and the clothing of the passenger was observed.

Kwon said after extensive search around the island, he located the vehicle—a turquoise 2010 Toyota Corolla with license plate ACA-729.

The car, which had damage on the right front headlamp, was then impounded for evidence.

Kwon said the following day of the incident, he identified the driver as Anthony Muna, but the suspect denied he was involved in the crash and stated that the car had damage to the headlamp prior to him renting it.

Kwon said he located an eyewitness who provided a written statement that the twin Muna brothers were seen taping the right front headlamp of the turquoise Toyota Corolla with a clear packing tape at a residence in Chalan Kiya on June 8 at 4pm.

Kwon said during an interview last June 11, the Muna brothers confessed that their initial motive was to snatch the tourist’s purse, but they failed after striking the tourist instead.

Kwon said the brothers also confessed to being involved in recent strings of robbery, burglary, and theft incidents with three other individuals.

In the robbery cases, Police Officer Roque K. Camacho stated in his report that Vicente Muna admitted that he and his twin brother Anthony broke into a van at Grotto and stole several bags and that they also stole a bag at Wing Beach in Marpi.

Camacho said investigation showed that a Ford passenger van loaded with 12 tourists as passengers arrived at Grotto in the afternoon on April 25, 2018.

After the tourists came back to the van after snorkeling, they discovered that the van’s window was damaged and a piece of rock was on the driver’s seat.

Eight tourists claimed that their bags, money, cellphones, credit cards, passports, jewelry, keys, and other items were stolen. The money and some items were worth $10,492.

The Wing Beach theft case happened on the morning of June 1, 2018. An employee of the Phoenix Photo Shop along with three tourists came at the beach for picture taking.

The group placed their belongings on the sand as they walked to the boonie area for the picture taking.

One of the tourists saw a man, who took their belongings and rode in a red car that sped off.

Vicente Muna allegedly confessed that the money they took from the van at Grotto was worth $2,000. He allegedly told police that on their way to their farm, which is located near Grotto, they started throwing things they don’t need.

In the Wing Beach incident, Vicente Muna said he and his brother rented a red Toyota Corolla that they used in stealing a bag from tourists last May.

After speeding away from Wing Beach, the brothers took the money from a bag and threw the items into the bushes. They proceeded to Koblerville by the Katmelo farm.

Last June 12, police officers went to a gravel road leading to Katmelo farm, where they then recovered a handbag that contains credits and identification cards.

Last June 13, officers canvassed the side of the road that leads to Wing Beach for the cellular phones that Anthony Muna had thrown. They found one iPhone with a pink casing. The victim identified the phone as hers.

Police said further investigation showed that the twin brothers and associates were also involved in break-ins of vehicles in Marpi and purse snatching incidents in Garapan. The cases are still pending for investigation.