Thieves don’t let religious milestones stop them. But then God doesn’t stop dishing out punchlines either.
“During the Holy Week break, Ricky Cordero, Vicente Figueroa, Maricel Figueroa, Marie Deneros, and Thym Charles Marvin Abalos broke into the Missionary Baptist Church in Sta. Monica, Ugong, Valenzuela City,” reports Nathaniel R. Melican in the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
The robbers knew that Pastor Boyet Ricafrente and his family, who also lived in the church, were on a trip out of town. So, they helped themselves to everything they wanted inside the church and the family’s living quarters.
To get an idea of how thorough the robbers were, the report said that “among the stolen items were a television set, a speaker system, a DVD player, three electric fans, an air-conditioning unit, carpets, a gas stove, 10 Monobloc chairs, two guitars, and a nebulizer.” They even took spoons and forks.
The Ricafrentes discovered the robbery when they returned from their trip at around 11:30pm on Black Saturday, April 19.
Here’s where it gets interesting.
After the robbery, someone reported to the police that the DVD player that was sold to him did not work. The police, who had also gotten a report of the church robbery, then asked the buyer of the defective DVD to describe the people who had sold him the item. The pastor, as it turned out, knew who the robbers were.
Police promptly arrested all of the five culprits.
Photo from MorgueFile
