A DETAINEE arrested for robbing a KTV bar in the northern town of Compostela, Cebu escaped from the hospital while the policeman assigned to guard him went out for a coffee break Friday morning.
PO1 Ryan Villafuente Alarde had just stepped out of the ward of the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center at 6 a.m. to grab a cup of coffee.
Three minutes earlier, he had sent a text message to Insp. Ramon Lacno, Compostela police chief, asking the latter to send someone to relieve him of his duty at the hospital.
When he returned, Renante Villarta Riza, 24, was gone.
Riza’s wife was still asleep beside the bed when Alarde woke her up to ask her where her husband went.
Alarde rushed to his motorcycle, hoping to catch Riza, but its engine did not start right away because of the heavy rain the night before.
Lacno said they were planning to have Riza discharged from the hospital because it cost too much to divide three shifts just to guard him.
Sympathy
He added that he chose Alarde as Riza’s guards because he was one of his better policemen at the station.
“Naluoy baya ko niya kay tarong ning pulisa. Wa gud to siya nakauli kay nagsige og pangita (I felt bad for Alarde. He wasn’t able to return home because he continued to look for Riza),” Lacno said.
A flash alarm was sent to all police stations in Cebu Province with instructions to immediately arrest Riza if spotted.
Description
He is described as between 5’4" and 5’5" tall, sporting very short hair, having a fair complexion and of medium build.
Riza has a tattoo on his right leg and a scar in his right arm. He hails from Sitio Seaside, Barangay South Poblacion, Naga.
Riza and a certain Monching were shot by the persons they robbed in Barangay Tagubi, Compostela.
Ronnel Wagas and his friend, Leonidas Barbero, 30, were drinking in a bar when Monching and Riza declared a holdup.The robbers, after allegedly hitting Wagas in the head and Barbero in the stomach, took P383 and a mobile phone from the bar’s cashier, a wallet from Barbero and the key to Wagas’ motorcycle.
But when they attempted to escape using Wagas’ motorcycle, the victims both jumped on the robbers to stop them.
Wagas allegedly grabbed Monching’s .45 revolver and shot the latter and Riza.
Monching was killed while Riza suffered gunshot wounds in the back, right side and right breast.
Lacno said he is giving Alarde five days to locate Riza.
If the suspect is not found by then, Alarde will be required to submit his written explanation and will be placed under investigation. (MEA)
