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Tuesday, April 05, 2005
3 injured; one suspect captured in gas station heist
FOUR men, all armed with .45 pistols, struck a Lapu-Lapu City gasoline station but fled empty-handed, except for one who got caught during a chase yesterday morning.
The robbers, upon seeing responding policemen, were forced to let go of two bags containing P180,000 cash.
A shootout was averted because of the crowd at the Petron gas station at the corner of Sangi Road and Maximo Patalinjug Ave.
However, three persons, including two security guards and a soldier, were injured when the robbers attacked them during the heist.
SPO3 Larry Baguio of the Marigondon police station, who responded to the robbery alarm, arrested Hermes Gomonod Abergas, 32, from Ozamis City, Misamis Occidental.
Police are now looking for Abergas’ accomplices whom he identified as Danny Agoncillo, and a certain Roel and Ricky. Agoncillo is married to Abergas’ cousin.
A case for attempted robbery with attempted homicide will be filed against the four suspects, who reportedly arrived in Cebu just last Sunday,.
Barged
The attempted robbery happened at the station at 10:15 a.m. yesterday.
Right before the heist, the group assaulted security guards Roberto Batulat, 45, and Vivencio Pales and 1st Lt. Alfredo San Agustin Jr.
Batulat sustained a gunshot wound on the forehead, Pales had contusions in the head while San Agustin had an eye injury.
Police learned that Abergas disarmed Batulat first, and shot him. The bullet grazed his forehead.
Abergas and his companions then barged into the gas station office.
The group then took the gas station’s earnings from bank personnel, who had just picked the money up for deposit and were walking towards their vehicle parked outside.
San Agustin and Corporal Gilbert Perater were inquiring about their gas allocation.
According to Cashier Perla Rosales, San Agustin and Perater were all inside the gas station office when Abergas approached them.
Abergas reportedly introduced himself as a policeman and disarmed Perater, while ordering those inside to go out of the office.
Outside, Abergas told Rosales, San Agustin and Perater to lie on the ground, face down. When San Agustin protested, Abergas reportedly pulled the trigger on him. But the gun did not fire so Abergas struck the officer’s left eye.
Another suspect, who was wearing fatigue shirt and jeans, also pistol-whipped bank security guard Pales and took the bags from him.
Police arrival
It was then that a police patrol car, manned by SPO1 Rogelio Amodia and PO3 Reynald Balangawan, arrived at the gas station. Amodia saw another suspect in a red polo shirt trying to pull the trigger on Perater. But the gun also misfired.
So, the suspect pointed his gun at Amodia, prompting the policeman to jump back into the patrol car.
Amodia aimed his gun at the suspect, but since there were many people around so Amodia just fired a warning shot, forcing the suspect to let go of one of the moneybags he was carrying.
The suspect fled, allowing Rosales to pick up the bag. It could not be immediately determined how the other bag was recovered.
One bag contained P90,228 in paper bills and coins, and another bag had P91,929.25.
Amodia immediately secured the station and its perimeter as there might be other suspects left.
Backup
It was Baguio and PO2 Romeo Cabras, aboard another patrol car, who pursued the robbers.
They proceeded to the airbase gate, after people told them one of the suspects went that way.
Baguio and Cabras would have gone back to the gas station after failing to arrest the suspect. But residents stopped them and said they saw the suspect, who was later identified as Abergas, board a passing tricycle heading their direction.
The two policemen immediately flagged down the vehicle and saw Abergas seated at the driver’s back seat.
They invited him to the police station, where the army officers and Rosales positively identified him.
Another responding team traced Abergas’ route before he was arrested and separately retrieved the .45 pistols thrown in a vacant lot some 100 meters from the gas station. (OCP)
(April 5, 2005 issue)
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