From left, Venny Babauta Untalan, 27, Dino Mettao, 33, George Grover, 33, and Jimmy Joaquin Jr., 34, are escorted by Corrections officers to a courtroom for a bail hearing on Monday morning.
FOUR men were separately charged and arrested in theft cases involving food, a coin machine changer, and laptops.
Venny Babauta Untalan, 27, George Grover, 33, Dino Mettao, 33, and Jimmy Joaquin Jr., 34, appeared before Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho in the custody of the Department of Corrections for a bail hearing on Monday.
Police said Untalan was responsible for a theft incident reported to the Department of Public Safety on Sept. 18, at 4:52 p.m.
According to Assistant Chief of Police Simon T. Manacop, “On this incident, the victims had discovered that frozen food items were stolen from their refrigerator. Surveillance recordings had captured the thief who was later identified as Venny Untalan.”
Manacop added, “On Sept. 21, at about 5 a.m., a burglary and theft incident were reported at the Sun Palace in Susupe. When officers arrived at the scene, they…met Untalan in the area who claimed that his parents were checked in at the hotel. Untalan was arrested at 5:35 a.m. pursuant to the (previously issued) arrest warrant. He is also a person of interest being investigated for the burglary incident reported at Sun Palace.”
Detective Jenny Sablan, who is handling the case, said Untalan has been arrested numerous times this year for burglary and theft-related cases.
George Grover and Dino Mettao were each charged with theft in an incident that occurred at Fresh Laundromat in San Vicente on Aug. 28, 2024, where a coin machine changer was stolen. The incident was captured by the establishment’s surveillance camera.
According to DPS, it was Mettao who carried the coin machine out of Fresh Laundry, and Grover was the driver of the getaway vehicle, which he owns.
Police Lt. Catherine Pangelinan said that when detectives executed a search warrant at Grover’s apartment, she saw an e-bike that had been reported stolen in a separate incident she was investigating.
She said inside the apartment was the metal coin box and bill acceptor from Fresh Laundry’s coin machine changer.
Pangelinan said Grover admitted that he was with Mettao during the burglary and theft incident at Fresh Laundry.
As for Jimmy Joaquin Jr., he was charged with receiving stolen property and theft by deception.
Police said Joaquin sold stolen laptops from Marianas Health Clinic to several individuals. The stolen laptops are worth $6,300 and were later recovered by DPS investigators.
Joaquin, a computer technician who can unlock passwords for laptops and cellphones, identified the individual — Edward Fabros — who broke into Marianas Health Clinic, DPS said. Court documents did not mention if Fabros had been arrested already.
Judge Camacho imposed a $10,000 cash bail on each defendant and remanded them to the custody of the Department of Corrections. The judge also ordered each defendant to return to court for a preliminary hearing on Oct. 2 at 9 a.m. and for an arraignment on Oct. 7 at 10 a.m.
At the hearing, Assistant Public Defender Charlene Brown represented Untalan, Mettao and Joaquin, while Assistant Attorneys General David Krach and Dan Johnson appeared for the government.
An attorney will be appointed to represent Grover.
Defendants Venny Babauta Untalan, 27, Dino Mettao, 33, George Grover, 33, and Jimmy Joaquin Jr., 34, are escorted by Corrections officers to a courtroom for a bail hearing on Monday morning.
