In yesterday’s bail hearing, Associate Judge Kenneth L. Govendo found probable cause to charge 36-year-old Xi Wen Li and 42-year-old Ying X. Ciao with one count of burglary, one count of theft and one count of criminal mischief.
Govendo set the preliminary examination for Oct. 8 and the arraignment for Oct. 14.
Detective Abraham C. Villagomez, in his affidavit, stated that the Department of Public Safety central received a call reporting a theft and burglary incident at the former Joeten store in Chalan Kanoa at about 2:04 a.m. on Sept. 26, 2008.
Police dispatched to the scene said they saw two individuals later identified as the defendants inside a white station wagon parked directly across from the Sun Signs establishment.
Villagomez said the police officers verified with the caller if the two individuals were the ones he saw earlier break into a vehicle, and the caller answered in the affirmative.
The officers went near the wagon and saw a car battery in the passenger seat and vehicle parts.
The officers also saw two cars parked in front of Sun Signs. Both cars displayed shattered windows and their hoods were slightly opened. The airbags of one vehicle was missing.
The owner of one of the cars was called and she identified the car battery and the airbags as coming from her car.
The two defendants were arrested and brought to the Department of Corrections where they were booked and detained.
The defendants, when read of their constitutional rights through a Chinese translator, admitted stealing the battery and air bags from the two parked cars.
The two also admitted they were planning to sell the items to any auto shop.
The two said they are jobless and needed money.
