During the bail hearing on Thursday, Associate Judge David A. Wiseman ordered Herbert B. Hocog to post $50,000 cash bail, obey all commonwealth laws and return to court whenever required to do so.
Assistant Attorney General Rebecca Warfield appeared on behalf of the government.
Assistant Public Defender Douglas Hartig represented the defendant for the bail hearing only after the court found the defendant not eligible for a court-appointed counsel.
Wiseman man set the preliminary hearing for March 12 and the arraignment for March 16.
Detective Melvin I. Monkeya submitted an affidavit to the court stating that at 4:41 a.m. on July 23, 2007, the defendant reported a robbery incident at the Poker Club.
Monkeya said at about the same time, the cashier of Poker Club told responding police officers that two armed masked men pointed a gun at her and demanded that she give them the money.
The cashier told police that the masked men ran out through the back door after getting the money.
The cashier said Hocog was playing poker when the two men robbed the place.
She tapped on the window to get Hocog’s attention but he didn’t hear her.
She said he left the poker house minutes before the police arrived.
Hocog told police later that he didn’t hear or see what happened until the cashier told him. He said he went out to call for police assistance.
On Tuesday last week, a woman told police that one of the suspects told her that they robbed the arcade and that Hocog was an accomplice.
When interviewed by the police, Hocog admitted that it was he who tied the front door of the Poker Club with a rope, while his companions demanded the money from the cashier at gunpoint.
The suspect told police that it was part of the plan for the him to go in as a customer and play. Hocog said he later on signaled the other two suspects through radio that the place was clear.
He said they proceeded to Taga Beach where their car was parked, went to their home, split the money and went to sleep.
He told police that he burned his mask after the robbery.
He added that he had a baseball hat with him during the robbery but he didn’t use it.
