It was not his lucky day.
After waiting for hours under a scorching sun before he decided to strike, Alexander Fernandez, 32, succeeded in robbing a drug store of P2,900, only to be stopped by two policemen as he was making his getaway.
SPO3 Cristopher Ronquillo and PO3 Modestino Juanson had stopped at a gasoline station beside Generic Pharmacy along Barangay Holy Spirit, Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City to use the rest room when they were tipped off about the robbery by a bystander.
Bystander’s tip
The two, who are assigned at the Quezon City Police District Criminal Investigation Unit, told the Inquirer they had just come from a follow-up operation when they run into a witness who told them that the drugstore had just been robbed.
“Based on the accounts of witnesses, the suspect had been standing a few meters from his target for hours under the heat of the sun, as if waiting for a ride,” Ronquillo said.
“He must have been waiting for the right time to strike, but his timing was off because we happened to be in the area and on our way to the rest room,” the policeman said.
Fake handgun
Apart from the stolen cash amounting to P2,900, the policemen also recovered a fake 9mm handgun on Fernandez .
The suspect, who did not resist arrest, has been charged with robbery and is now detained in a police station cell.