Robber shot dead by gas station owner

A shootout with a gasoline station owner ended in the death of one of four armed robbers who held up two gasoline stations on Sunday in barangay Luray II, Toledo City.

Alerted about the robbery by one of his pumpboys, owner Raul Monsanto fired at the robbers fleeing on board a Suzuki motorcycle.

One robber was killed with a shot in the head.

Another was wounded in the left arm but managed to run away, leaving behind the motorcycle.

Two other lookouts also vanished.

Police said the robbers, who included a woman, held up a Platinum station at 10:15 a.m. then knocked off the Shell outlet at 10:25 p.m.

Both stations had no security guards but relied on closed-circuit television cameras for security. Video footage was partly blurred because of a heavy rain.

The robbers were able to take P7,000 from the Platinum Gasoline Station in the morning.

They returned in the evening for the Shell Gasoline Station owned by Monsanto, who lives nearby.

Two men on a motorcycle parked outside the cashier’s booth, and forced open the door, said the cashier Jose Tanoco.

The intruders took P6,000 in cash as well as Tanoco’s two mobile phones. They wore crash helmets and each had a .38 caliber revolver.

Two other companions, whose faces were not covered, served as lookouts.

A pumpboy , Aron Perequin, was able to alert his boss about the heist.

One of the armed robbers saw what Perequin did and shot at him but missed, hitting another pump boy, Wiljune Nacua, in the left knee and right leg as he was coming of the room.

The gas station owner , Monsanto, is a gun enthusiast, according to the police.

Police later found 13 pieces shells of a f .9 handgun, a .38 caliber revolver with six bullets and a black leather wallet at the crime scene.

The wallet, which turned out to be stolen, had a driver’s license with the name Evan Bejec of 138D Gorordo Ave., Kamputhaw, Cebu City.

Chief Insp. Michael Anthony Bastes, Toledo City police chief, said a followup investigation led to Bejec, who said he lost his wallet to a pickpocket in Cebu City last March.

Police also identified the slain robber as 28-year-old Randy Jakosalem, a native of Guihulngan, Negros Oriental who worked in Cebu City as a security guard.

His name appeared as the registered owner of the gang’s motorcycle based on records at the Land Transportation Office.

Bastes said the gun used by Monsanto, the gas station owner, was licensed based on records of the Firearms Explosives Security Service Agency and Guards Supervisory Section. /With a report by Intern Roselle Quirimit