Two ex-convicts arrested for Mobil gas station robbery

Police arrested Friday two ex-convicts who allegedly robbed a Mobil gas station in Chalan Piao last Feb. 8.

Christopher M. Igisomar, 31, and Joseph C. San Nicolas Jr., 25, also known as Jun Dagu, are charged with robbery, theft, conspiracy, assault with a dangerous weapon, and disturbing the peace. They are being held on a $100,000 cash bail each.

Police detective Roque K. Camacho stated in his report that the Department of Public Safety received a call about a robbery at the Mobil gas station in Chalan Piao last Feb. 8 at 5:07am.

One suspect, who was armed with a machete, was wearing a pair of green Army pants, had a hat, and his face was covered with a red T-shirt. The second suspect, who was armed with a possible piece of hollow block, was wearing a pair of white or tan colored short pants.

Preliminary investigation showed that the first suspect ran behind the cashier’s counter, brandished his machete, and demanded money and the cashier’s purse. The female cashier opened the cash register and then moved away. The suspect grabbed the money in the till, took the woman’s purse, and ran outside.

The cashier said the first suspect has a swastika tattoo on the outside portion of his left wrist and tattoos on his knuckles.

The second suspect on the other hand, entered the gas station and ran to the male gas attendant, who was then sitting inside the station’s store. He held the gas attendant in a headlock from behind and held a possible piece of hollow block against the attendant’s neck.

The two suspects then ran outside the store and headed north on foot.

Camacho said that police officers were searching the area north of the gas station when a bystander approached them and told them that Igisomar is a former prisoner who has a swastika tattoo on the outer portion of his left hand. Camacho said they later questioned Igisomar and took photos of his tattoos. Igisomar denied involvement in the robbery.

About a month later, on March 19, an anonymous caller reported to DPS that two local men entered the Viva Poker in Chalan Kanoa and overheard them planning to rob the establishment.

Camacho said that when police officers responded to Viva Poker, they met two local men, who identified themselves as Igisomar and San Nicolas. After a police officer questioned them, Igisomar and San Nicolas left the scene.

Camacho said that on March 27, he reviewed the surveillance camera’s footage of the gas station robbery and noticed that the second suspect tied something around his left ankle to cover something.

That same day, Camacho said, while he was driving by the William S. Reyes Elementary School, he saw San Nicolas walking on the side of the road. Camacho said he noticed a tattoo on the left inner shin by the ankle of San Nicolas.

Camacho said he asked San Nicolas if they could talk at the Commonwealth Bureau of Investigation, but the suspect promised to follow later because he was babysitting at that time.

Later that night, Camacho said, San Nicolas showed up at CBI where he confessed that he and Igisomar robbed the gas station in Chalan Piao. San Nicolas reportedly said it was Igisomar who brought up the idea of robbing the gas station.

After the robbery, Igisomar allegedly gave San Nicolas $70 as his share from the robbery.

Camacho said Igisomar was released from prison on Oct. 13, 2012, after being convicted in connection with a robbery at Leo Poker in Tanapag and theft of a vehicle.

Court records show that on Oct. 14, 2006, Igisomar robbed the Leo Poker Game Room in Tanapag. A surveillance camera led to his identification and subsequent arrest.

In March 2007, then-Superior Court Associate Judge Ramona V. Manglona imposed a six-year prison term on Igisomar for burglary. He was released in 2010, police said.

In April 2007, a security guard was injured when a group of men staged an armed robbery at Smile Poker in Chalan Kanoa. Police later arrested four suspects, including San Nicolas.