Wednesday, May 28, 2008 2 men snatch bag while cops’ car tailed them
TWO men aboard a motorcycle failed to check if the coast was clear before deciding to snatch a woman’s handbag yesterday.
Ramil Apa of Barangay Sirao, Cebu City and his companion Ariel Caballero, 30, did not notice a police patrol car a few meters away when they grabbed Lillibelle Padillo’s bag at the corner of V. Rama Ave. and B. Rodriguez St.
The policemen chased the suspects all the way to Salvador St. in Barangay Labangon and cornered them there.
Apa ended up getting shot in the legs while Caballero got wounded in a scuffle with the police officers.
Padillo, 23, told the police that she was about to cross the street on her way to an Internet cafe at past 11 a.m. yesterday when Caballero grabbed her bag.
She said she did not want to let go of the bag but Caballero held on to it, dragging her to the ground.
Cops behind
Padillo said that she noticed the two approaching her on a motorcycle but did not think they were up to something because a police car was following them some meters away.
“They probably did not see it (patrol car),” she told reporters in Bisaya.
Suddenly, one of them grabbed her handbag and sped off.
Padillo said the policemen saw what happened and fired warning shots.
The two sped toward Barangay Guadalupe with the police car chasing them.
Padillo had no idea what happened after that, only that another police car arrived to pick her up.
Apa and Caballero were arrested in a brief chase with a team from the Punta Princesa Police Station led by PO3 Celeriano Belleta.
Commotion
The police team was on board their patrol car along V. Rama Ave. when they noticed the commotion.
Although the patrol car has an emergency blinking light, its siren was defective.
When the suspects reached the intersection of V. Rama Ave. and Calderon St., they made a left turn and headed to Banawa.
The chase ended along Salvador St. when the police decided to hit the rear of the motorcycle, which crashed.
Caballero tried to run away but the police caught up with him, while Apa attempted to board his motorcycle.
Police asked Apa to surrender but the latter allegedly pulled out a gun, prompting PO3 Belleta to disable him.
Padillo was still in tears at the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) when she identified the two as the ones who snatched her bag.
Her bag contained two cellular phones, a digital camera and her wallet, where she kept some cash and important cards.
Padillo hails from General Santos City but has been working in Cebu City for the past two years.
Following orders
City Police Chief Patrocinio Comendador directed his men to bring Apa to Cebu City Medical Center for treatment of his gunshot wounds in both legs, just below the knee.
Caballero, who resides in the mountain barangay of Pulangbato, Cebu City, pointed to Apa as the one who ordered him to grab the bag.
Apa was driving the DT 125 motorcycle with Caballero as passenger.
In an interview with reporters after their arrest, Caballero said he just heeded Apa’s instructions.
He, however, refused to comment when asked if they have been regularly robbing people while on board their motorcycle.
Comendador ordered Theft and Robbery Section Chief Michael Anthony Bastes to subject the two suspects to a tactical interrogation to get more information from them. (MEA/JST)
