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Martial artist foils burglar
This series of images show video footage of the suspect climbing a chain link fence located north of the Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan in Garapan. (Contributed Photo)
A would-be burglar made the mistake of attempting to rob a tourist, who turned out to be trained in martial arts.
The burglar, who had snuck into the tourist’s hotel room, was forced to apologize to his victim, but not before being placed in a rear-naked chokehold that had him scrabbling to get free.
Once the would-be robber had apologized, the supposed victim let him go, allowing the burglar to go out the way he had snuck in, climb over a fence, and have his face caught on a surveillance camera.
In a Crime of the Week alert issued yesterday, Crime Stoppers coordinator and police spokesman Lt. Jason Tarkong said the incident occurred at the Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan in Garapan.
According to the police report, police responded on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, at about 8am, and met with the two victims, an Asian male age 36, and his wife, age 35.
Both were asleep in their hotel room when they awoke to the sound of their room’s balcony sliding door being opened. The suspect then entered the room. The male victim, who is trained in martial arts, wrestled the suspect to the ground, securing him with a rear-naked chokehold. The suspect apologized to the victim, who then released the suspect. The suspect escaped back out the sliding glass door.
Police reviewed video footage of the suspect climbing a chain link fence located north of the hotel.
He is described as a local male, with short dark hair, about 5’10” tall, weighs 170 lbs, and wearing a black baseball cap, a pair of long khaki-colored pants, and a dark sleeveless basketball jersey shirt.
The suspect climbed over the fence at 5:45am and exited the property over the same fence without the baseball cap at 5:55am.
The suspect left behind his baseball cap, which had the word “SEWN” on it. Police recovered the hat in the victims’ room and secured it as evidence. The victim received a minor injury and nothing was stolen.
DPS and Crime Stoppers need your help. Please contact the Crime Stoppers hotline at 234-7272 should you want to remain anonymous or use its website at www.nmicrimestoppers.net. Crime Stoppers pays up to $1,000 for any information leading to an arrest. It pays to call.
