Boy arrested
Cops say 14-year-old was repeatedly arrested for street crimes; boy tells story
Parents say they are not surprised each time a cop comes looking for him, but they just leave everything to God
A14-YEAR-OLD boy, allegedly responsible for a number of street crimes in Cebu City, was again caught by the Theft and Robbery Section last Friday after he broke into a car and stole a camera. But, as always, he was later freed because he is a minor.
Jeff, 14, (real name withheld for being a minor), was pointed out by the different police stations and the Theft and Robbery Section (TRS) as the one responsible for a lot of street crimes, such as burglary and pickpocketing, in the city.
According to Fuente Police Chief Wildemar Tiu, Jeff’s “specialty” is breaking into cars.
Last Wednesday, a college professor reported to the Fuente Police Station that his camera, lenses and flash were stolen from his van in Barangay Sambag 1.
The station forwarded him to the TRS who recovered the camera and caught Jeff on A. Lopez St., Cebu City last Friday.
Jeff was traced after the victim re- portedly overheard him bragging to his friends that he was able to steal a camera inside a van.
Sun.Star Cebu tried contacting the college professor, to no avail.
Fuente Police Station Chief Wildemar Tiu said that every month, they have always received reports about Jeff.
“Dali ra man gud ni siya mailhan kay mestizohon ning bataa. Dili ka magtuo na mangawat diay. Mao dali siya madescribe (He is easily recongizable being mestizo. You’d never think he’d do such things. That’s why he’s easy to describe),” said Tiu in a phone interview.
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Sr. Insp. David Señor said that, in his stint as the TRS chief for about four months, they have caught Jeff twice.
“Magsige ra gyud ni silag balik-balik ug pangawat, gasalig ra man kay dili lagi mapriso (They always steal, confident that he can’t go to prison),” added Señor.
Jeff’s family lives in Barangay PahinaCentral but he often stays on A. Lopez St.,Barangay Labangon along with his friends, also minors.
Jeff’s mother, Leonora, 34, has already lost count as to how many times Jeff was caught by the police.
“Dili na gyud mi mahibulong kung dunay police moari sa amoa ug mangita niya (Jeff). Ako ganahan ra pud ko na makuha siya sa police. Basin pa diay mabut-an (Doesn’t surprise us anymore if a cop comes here looking for him. I just want him to be with the police. Maybe that will do him good),” Leonora told Sun.Star Cebu.
Jeff is the fifth of Leonora’s seven children.
Leonora said that Jeff is an intelligent child, but she feared that Jeff will just use his street smarts to do something bad.
Among her seven children, Jeff is the only one who stopped school.
Each year, she enrolled Jeff in school but he always quits after two months.
Leonora recalled that she even chained Jeff so that he will not go out of the house.
But her neighbors reprimanded her because she might get imprisoned for that.
“Walay inahan na gustong mabutang sa kadaot iyang anak, pero dunay usahay ipasa-Ginoo na lang gyud nimo tanan (No mother wants her son harmed, but sometimes you just leave everything to God),” she said.
Leonora sells barbecue for a living while her husband stays home after he was paralyzed.
Interview Sun.Star Cebu also had the chance to interview Jeff last year after he was caught by the TRS for stealing a bag containing P82,000 and diamond earrings from a woman who just went out of her car.
During that time Jeff admitted that he was a rugby user and couldn’t stop stealing because he was used to doing it.
He also told the police then that he was able to steal money from a cash register in one of the stores in the city and was not even caught.
Women and Children Protection Desk Chief Areiza Otida said they have no hold on minors like Jeff especially if they still have parents.
Jeff may undergo intervention programs.
Otida said the only thing they could do is to coordinate with a social worker where Jeff lives and give counseling to his parents.