2 dead thieves tagged in burglary of TV man’s house

Two burglars believed to be among those who broke into the house of television reporter Jay Ruiz last week were killed in a shootout with policemen Monday morning.

The two men have yet to be identified after they were gunned down around 5 a.m. at the BF Homes Subdivision in Barangay Holy Spirit, Quezon City.

However, Senior Inspector Roberto Razon, chief of the investigation unit of the Batasan police station, said that based on the footage taken by a closed circuit television camera installed in Ruiz’s neighborhood in Mapayapa Subdivision, also in Quezon City, the two were among those who broke into his house on July 10.

In addition, the identification cards of Ruiz’s wife, Marjorie, and his son, Gavin, were found inside suspects’ vehicle, a red Toyota Innova with license plate TKI 245.

One of the dead men was described as between 20 and 25 years old, 4’11” in height, with fair skin and a shaved head. Dressed in a black polo shirt and a pair of black pants, he had several tattoos—the word “Sputnik” on the right side of the body, a dragon on the left shoulder and a leaf on his back.

His cohort, on the other hand, was between 20 and 25 years old, 5’4” in height, with short, cropped hair and dressed in red basketball shorts.

“The one who had a shaved head… was clearly seen in the CCTV footage,” Razon said.

He added that aside from the Innova, they recovered from the two men two cal. .38 revolvers, a laptop computer and a mountain bike.

The van, however, appeared to have been stolen as the police found several identification cards in the name of Jilwilson Tilar inside the vehicle.

Subdivision security guard Jayson Duman-Ag said that around 3 a.m. Monday, the two men drove up to the subdivision entrance in the Innova.

They told him that they were going to visit one of the residents and added that they would not be staying long.

Duman-Ag, however, called up the Batasan police station after he spotted the van driving aimlessly around the subdivision.

In response, Razon and his men went to the area and spotted the van at the corner of Sandiko and F. Ventura Streets at 5:15 a.m.

They saw a man on a mountain bike headed for the Innova while his companion was holding a laptop computer.

Razon said that as he and his men approached the two, the latter took out guns and fired upon them, leading to a shootout which left the suspects dead.

Meanwhile, the two men were also being linked to the theft of the gold monstrance from St. Peter Parish on Commonwealth Avenue on Sunday.

“The monstrance is still missing. We are praying that those who took it will just return it to us,” parochial vicar Rev. Fr. Joel Buenviaje said in an interview.

The monstrance which came from Rome and costs around P100,000 was discovered missing on Sunday before the 8 a.m. Mass.

It was taken from the Adoration Room, a floor below the main chapel.

Witnesses said that earlier, a red Innova was spotted in the vicinity of the church.