Store helper who robs employer to ‘pay off debts’ nabbed in Samboan, Cebu

A 30-YEAR-OLD store helper accused of robbing his employer in Barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City was apprehended in a manhunt operation in Samboan town, southwest Cebu past noon on Tuesday, June 11, 2024, a few hours after the theft was discovered in the morning.

Police identified the suspect as Raymond Antanoy Villaflores, of Sitio Tabok, Barangay San Isidro, Tanjay, Negros Oriental.

According to Police Major Miles Damoslog, the chief of Guadalupe Police Station, they received information that the suspect had a theft case in Tanjay City, but the victim chose not to file a complaint after he offered to reimburse the victim for the items he had taken.

The police said Villaflores may have committed the act in order to compensate his previous victim.

The police chief disclosed that the suspect’s 44-year-old employer, Ging-Ging, who owns a store in H. Labra Street, Barangay Guadalupe, reported to their station on Tuesday morning that her iPhone, gold necklace, black wallet containing P54,600 and sales proceeds totaling P100,000 were already missing and Villaflores had also vanished, leading her to believe that the latter was the culprit.

The Guadalupe police then launched a follow-up operation and asked habal-habal drivers in the area and one of them confessed to having driven the suspect to the South Bus Terminal.

They immediately proceeded to the South Bus Terminal but failed to capture Villaflores, so they coordinated with the police stations throughout the province where there are ports for ships bound for Negros Oriental.

Villaflores was finally arrested in Samboan port past Tuesday noon and the stolen items were recovered from him.

However, the money was not anymore intact as the suspect had already spent a portion of it.

The suspect will be facing charges for qualified theft. (AYB, TPT)