Monday, September 24, 2007 Toy plus 2 guns land 4 in real trouble
FOUR minors believed to be members of the Crips gang were arrested yesterday dawn after yielding firearms and a knife.
PO1 Eva Caminade, Fuente Osmeña Police Station desk officer, said in a phone interview that the minors allegedly kept the weapons for “self-defense.”
A bitter rivalry between the Crips and Bloods gangs has resulted to several deaths or injuries.
The 14-to-16-year-old group picked up yesterday yielded a .38 revolver loaded with four bullets, a Magnum .22 revolver with three bullets, a six-inch knife and a black .38 toy revolver.
The Fuente police’s miscellaneous team led by PO2 Bernabe Alego arrested them after receiving a phone call past 2 a.m. about four young men with weapons in the vicinity of a gasoline station along General Maxilom Ave., Cebu City.
Caminade said the 14-year-olds will be turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) 7 today.
The police are still evaluating if the two other minors could be charged with illegal possession of firearms.
Under Republic Act 9344, or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006, offenders 15 years old or younger are exempted from any criminal liability.
Unless they “acted with discernment,” minors above 15 are subjected to an intervention program instead of serving jail time.
This is one situation Acting Cebu City Police Office Director Patrocinio Comendador would like to be corrected.
He has asked Sen. Francisco Pangilinan, RA 9344 author, to either repeal or modify the law.
In a position paper, Comendador pointed out that minors were involved in at least 600 crimes for the first six months of 2007 in Cebu City.
Pangilinan promised to introduce some amendments to strengthen the law. (JST)
