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Alleged guard-cum-robber arrested
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Posted on Sep 14 2005
Acting on a tip, lawmen swooped down on a hotel room in Garapan Tuesday night and arrested Alexan-der Reyes Cana, the security guard who allegedly robbed Tuesday the poker arcade that he was supposed to watch.
Cana, who was already planning to flee the island, did not resist arrest, said acting Department of Public Safety spokesman Eric David.
David said that Cana already had plane tickets and was ready to fly to Manila yesterday had it not been for the swift action by the Thief Apprehension Select Coalition.
TASC operatives served 47-year-old Cana with an arrest warrant at the Summer Holiday in Garapan late Tuesday night, the police spokesman said. David said Cana was staying at the hotel, although the security guard was earlier reported to be a resident of Chalan Piao.
Police learned about Cana’s whereabouts after receiving a tip from an anonymous caller after the manhunt against him was aired over KMCV News. David thanked the community for assisting lawmen in the immediate arrest of the suspect.
Cana, who was detailed as a security guard at the Fun and Games in western Garapan, allegedly robbed the poker arcade of some $27,735.50.
In an affidavit submitted to the Superior Court, police detective Alfred Celes said Cana forced the cashier, Nilda Olivar Sison, into the restroom Tuesday morning after poker staff Alex Padini and Iglecerio Jagong collected money from the poker machines.
The detective said the money collectors had just left the poker establishment before 8:30am when Cana approached Sison and then seized her in a headlock. Cana then allegedly locked her up inside the restroom. The cashier, however, managed to climb out the restroom’s window and escape to seek assistance.
In a bail hearing yesterday afternoon, Presiding Judge Robert Naraja affirmed the $20,000 bail earlier imposed by Associate Judge Ramona Manglona on the suspect. As part of judge’s bail conditions, Cana should also have no direct contact with the poker arcade, Sison, Padini and Jagong.
Naraja set the preliminary hearing and arraignment on Sept. 22 and 26, respectively. He appointed the Public Defender’s Office to represent Cana in the court proceedings.
