Saturday, August 16, 2008 Fiscal fires warning shot to stop mob from beating up 'snatcher'
A LAWYER saved a suspected snatcher from a mob that wanted to beat him up during lunch time yesterday and then set his bail later in the afternoon.
Assistant City Prosecutor Oscar Capacio said the commotion happened outside a restaurant in Lahug where he was having his lunch with one of his staff yesterday.
Capacio said he saw a tall, well-built man rushing past the restaurant. He was later identified as Michael Armodia, 30 years old.
Capacio and his colleague then heard a jeepney driver outside shout “snatcher!”
Armodia then ran past the restaurant again, this time toward the opposite direction. Capacio said he must have been cornered so he ran back the other way.
That was when a cargo truck passed by. Capacio saw Armodia climb up the back of the truck, clinging on to its cargo. The truck driver, who had no clue that the man was a suspected snatcher, allowed him to hang on.
Capacio said that a man aboard a motorcycle chased the truck and tried to pull Armodia off.
But he was too small for Armodia and it took the help of another man to drag Armodia away from the truck. By this time, bystanders had formed a mob, wanting their chance to beat up Armodia.
Capacio said that because the mob was getting dangerous and was surrounding Armodia, he fired a warning shot “to neutralize them.” He also asked someone to call the police.
Mobile Patrol Group PO1 officers Renato Noval, Jr. and Raymund Zozobrado later arrived at the scene.
Capacio told Sun.Star Cebu he then returned to his interrupted lunch.
He said he did not file an affidavit anymore because the victim, Marv Vi Gomez, already filed a complaint at the city prosecutor’s office yesterday.
Capacio called himself a “witness and actual participant to hold” Armodia because his warning shot was intended to neutralize the crowd.
The commotion started aboard a jeepney, where Gomez shouted for help after Armodia reportedly snatched her cellphone.
It was a Samsung J700, worth P12,000. People then chased, eventually catching up with him Armodia.
Capacio approved a bail of P12,000, equal to the stolen cellphone’s price, past 4:00 p.m. yesterday.
As the chief of the RTC Trial Division, all criminal complaints pass through him before being elevated into charges at the Criminal Division.
Though he did not train in law enforcement, Capacio said he studies firing and carries a licensed gun. (KAB)
