Police detained Alvin Lopez, 33, who was caught red-handed after he robbed a woman, Marcelina Moralez, 37, on Tuesday, October 2, last week.
Moralez, a domestic of the Mile 6 junction, told police that on Tuesday, she was waiting for the bus to get home when she was approached by a dark-skinned man, who grabbed her blouse and held on to her. He grabbed her chain from around her neck, she said.
The thief then took her purse, which she had in her hand, which had $202 in it, her LG cell phone for $208, and several of her identification cards.
The man then ran through an orchard that was nearby, said Moralez, and after hearing her screams, a man who was working in the orchard set chase after the thief, who let go of the bag and continued running.
The man retrieved Moralez’s purse, and they both stayed there after calling the police, because they believed that the man was still hiding in the orchard.
Sure enough, when the police came and searched, they found the thief hiding in the orchard. Police also found the gold chain and the medal on the thief, identified as one Lopez of Sarawee Village in the Stann Creek District.
At the Dangriga Police Station, Lopez was charged with robbery. There, however, it was found out that he was wanted for another robbery, that of Juan Garcia, who is coincidentally a resident of Mile 6, Stann Creek Valley Road.
Garcia reported that Lopez attacked him with a piece of stick and took away his bicycle. The blow he suffered from the stick caused a cut on the right side of his head, and also underneath the left eye and on his right arm, said Garcia.
When Lopez appeared in the Dangriga Magistrate’s Court, he was charged with two counts of robbery and one count of aggravated assault for the attack on Garcia. He was not offered bail and was remanded to the Hattieville Prison until his next court date.