2 allegedly behind some burglaries arrested

Two men, believed to be among a group of thieves behind several burglary and theft cases on Saipan after Typhoon Soudelor ravaged the island, were arrested last week.

After burglarizing a house, Patrick Hernandez Muña, 18, and Bruce Manglona Iglecias, 33, allegedly went to 888 Poker in Garapan, where they met a man to trade some stolen items with methamphetamine or “ice.” Muña and Iglecias then smoked “ice” at Iglecias’ house.

At a hearing on Friday, Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho kept the $20,000 cash bail for each defendant. Preliminary hearing will be on Oct. 16 at 9am.

Assistant public defender Matthew Meyer was appointed as counsel for Muna; a private counsel will be appointed for Iglecias.

Police said the two were behind the burglaries that happened at Flor’s Hair Salon and Girl Talk in southern Garapan last Aug. 24. The two establishments are located in the same one-story commercial building at the corner of Beach Road and Taibwo Street in Garapan.

Police said the two suspects were also behind the burglary at the residence behind the salon.

Stolen from Flor’s Hair Salon were an inverter, a car battery, and a hair clipper, while thieves ran off with the cash register and its daily change fund from Girl Talk, Saipan Tribune learned. The owner of Flor’s Hair Salon told police that her landlord’s house behind the salon was also burglarized. At that time, the landlord identified as Dr. Chao Chiu was off-island.

According to Emerlinda C. Banayos, who was assigned by Chiu to watch the house, she checked the house a day before and left at 6pm after securing all the doors and gate. At 9:30pm, she returned to make sure the house was still okay and that’s when she found the main gate and house door wide open.

In a later interview with a detective, Banayos disclosed that Chiu’s house had been burglarized thrice. The first incident was on Aug. 24. Burglars took off with a large white safe containing personal documents, personal checks, and company checks.

The second time was on Aug. 25. Banayos discovered that the house was burglarized again when she came at 5:30pm to meet with the carpenters so they could board up the house.

The house was burglarized a third time on Aug. 26.

On Sept. 12, 2015, police detectives Andrew Taimanao and Daniel Maliuyaf interviewed Iglecias regarding a theft case he was involved in. Iglecias disclosed that Muña stole some L.E.D. lights from a construction site by Sugar Dock and that Muna gave him a Buddha head that was stolen from a house behind Girl Talk.

Muna said he was at Happy Poker when Muna asked him if he could take him to the house behind Girl Talk, where they loaded a big blender, a carved wooden fish, and a Buddha head.

Iglecias admitted he had the Buddha.

Banayos identified the Buddha head to be Chiu’s.

On Sept. 16, in an interview with police Muna admitted burglarizing the house behind Girl Talk with Iglecias.

Muna stated there were no lights because they did it after Typhoon Soudelor and no one was there.

Muna also revealed that his cousin told him to go into the house and steal the Japanese scrolls that were hanging on the wall because the gate and front door were already open.

He said his cousin and another person had broken into the house already.

On Sept. 17, police detective Catherine B. Pangelinan interviewed a man who admitted he was at 888 Poker when Muna approached and sold him a wooden fish carving and a blender in a box.

Pangelinan and Maliuyaf recovered the wooden fish carving in Dandan and the blender at an establishment in As Lito. Banayos identified the items as Chiu’s property.

On Sept. 24, Taimanao handed the recovered Buddha head to Banayos.

Police recently arrested Muña for allegedly stealing a battery from a Federal Emergency Management Agency’s generator that was placed at the Commonwealth Utilities Corp.’s water pump station in Chalan Kanoa last Sept. 10.