Second armed robbery in same location fires up local residents

RESIDENTS of the San Carlos area near Coronado will meet Thursday, June 6, to devise security strategies after a second armed robbery at  the same location.

On Tuesday, May 28 five armed and masked men burst into the restaurant/hotel Rancho des Toro and brutalized and robbed, owner Joe Wilmoth and  four guests.

In an earlier attack 14 guests were robbed. Wilmoth had increased security after the first event including a silent alarm linked to the San Carlos Police
The thieves approached the building on foot and brandishing pistols knives and machetes and attacked the owner and guests, one was pistol whipped, and another punched in the face before they were tied up with internet wire. Wilmoth managed to press the alarm before he was punched out but, according to witnesses it took the police 50 minutes to arrive, a drive local residents say would normally take five minutes.
Witnesses say they they all carried guns, some had knives, some had machetes, and at least one had a bull-whip. The men gave orders in English with heavy Spanish accents and photographed the bruised faces of before leaving with a safe, mobile phones and personal effects. They escaped by car.
According to Gorgona Vecinos Vigilantes (Neighbourhood Watch), the same night as the Rancho des Toro attack, the offices of Rio Mar were robbed.
No arrests have been made and area residents are determined to find solutions to their security problems, claiming that “In the last year or so, there has been a murder, a couple of kidnappings, multiple break-ins and armed robberies targeted against foreigners in the interior…It is time to fight back.”

Three community “safety” organisations in Panama are working together to fight these criminals: Neighbours Helping Neighbours (NHN), Alto Al Crimen (AAC) in Boquete and Gorgona Vecinos Vigilantes are working on this case together.
A support meeting is will be held Thursday June 6 at 5 PM at Ranch des Toro We hope to raise money for a reward for information leading to the arrest of these criminals, and for legal fees to support the prosecution of these thugs.
“There will be no weapons discussions, or sales pitches “ says meeting coordinator Rob Brown. “There will be presenting our plan on how we plan to identifying these punks, have them arrested, and convicted.”