A man was arrested for breaking into an AUV parked inside a mall in Tondo, Manila, and stealing a laptop, the Manila Police District (MPD) said on Monday, Sept. 1.
According to MPD Moriones Police Station 2 commander Lt. Col. Gilbert Cruz, the robbery occurred on Aug. 31 after the owner of the Toyota Innova parked his vehicle inside a mall. Upon his return, he found the back window of his vehicle destroyed and his laptop missing.
The mall's CCTV cameras caught the suspect calmly exiting its premises with his loot.
He was subsequently arrested in a follow-up operation by the MPD inside his home.
The police recovered the stolen laptop as well as an unregistered .38 caliber revolver and ammunition from the suspect.
Cruz said the suspect was identified as a notorious thief who targets parked vehicles and robs them of their contents. He was also previously arrested for the same crime.
"Talagang batikan siyang "basag-kotse" kasi hindi nag-scatter yung window, talagang buo siyang inalis tinutulak lang (He is an expert "basag-kotse" thief because of his meticulous way of breaking into a vehicle through its windows. He slowly pushes the window inward first until it breaks as a whole, instead of destroying it with force)," Cruz explained.
The police said the suspect was detained at the Moriones Police Station 2 Custodial Facility while charges of theft and illegal possession of firearm are being readied against him.