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2 allegedly stole IPI’s copper wire
Two men were arrested on Friday for allegedly stealing 39 feet of copper wire worth $1,018 from the Imperial Pacific International Ltd.’s storage compound in Lower Base last May 3.
Mario Olopai Sablan, 40, and Frank Vincent Tudela Pangelinan, 40, were arrested for theft.
Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho imposed a $50,000 cash bail each on Sablan and Pangelinan yesterday.
A private counsel will be appointed for Sablan, while assistant public defender Jamal Saleh was appointed as counsel for Pangelinan.
Preliminary hearing will be on July 17 at 9am.
According to police, two officers were heading north by the Gov. Eloy S. Inos Peace Park along Industrial Drive in Lower Base when an employee of Imperial Pacific flagged them down last May 3 at 9:43am to report a copper wire theft.
The Imperial Pacific employee disclosed that he saw Sablan pulling copper wire through the chain link fence surrounding the Imperial Pacific storage compound. Pangelinan allegedly served as a look out.
The two officers saw Sablan and Pangelinan standing next to their car on the shoulder of the northbound lane. Behind them was a chain link fence. The trunk of the car was open.
A third man wearing a pair of camouflage pants and dark shirt ran away when he saw the officers.
The two officers recognized Sablan and Pangelinan and approached them. The officers saw a roll of copper wire lying on the ground next to the car’s open trunk.
The report did not mention whether Sablan and Pangelinan were arrested at that time.
The witness said he was relieved to see the two officers driving in the area so he immediately stood in the middle of the road and flagged them down.
Another witness told police that that he also saw Sablan, Pangelinan, and the third man stealing the copper wires.
The police report did not indicate whether the third suspect had been identified.
