Tuesday, November 25, 2008 6 minors, 2 others bolt Bogo jail; one shot, dies
EIGHT detainees, six of them minors, bolted the Bogo City Police Station Sunday night.
Police discovered the escape at 11:30 p.m. after they saw that two iron bars of the detention cell’s window had already been bent and detached.
The escapees were arrested hours later, but one of them died after he was shot in the leg by one of the policemen who pursued them.
The detainees were identified as Edwin Cabeco Camento, 21, Mariano Nieves Antiquena, 18, two 17-year-old boys, three 15-year-olds and one 16-year-old boy.
They faced robbery and theft cases.
Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO) Director Carmelo Valmoria said the jailer, SPO1 Edwin Cavalida, was already charged criminally for infidelity in the custody of prisoners and will also face an administrative case.
Cavalida posted P6,000 bail at a Bogo City court yesterday.
Valmoria explained it has been his policy to immediately charge the assigned jailer with criminal and administrative cases when escapes happen.
He also ordered Supt. Romeo Perigo, deputy provincial director for operations and chief of the Provincial Investigation and Detective Management Branch, to look into the liability of the other police officers on duty and of the police chief, Supt. Tito Saterra.
Four of the six minors who escaped from the detention cell were the same ones who bolted the same jail in March this year.
The four sawed off the grills and hid the evidence when a policeman came to check on them by hanging their clothes over it.
Shooting
SPO1 Dennis Villamor claimed he had to shoot Antiquena in the leg after the latter allegedly fired at him using a .38 revolver in the shore of Barangay Takop, San Remigio.
Antiquena died a few minutes after he was taken to the Severo Verallo Memorial Hospital in Bogo City.
The escapees passed by the shore and not the main road to avoid detection.
SPO1 Rogel Layson of the Bogo City Police Station said all eight also decided not to split up because none of them had money.
He said they received information that the escapees were hiding in Barangay Takop, which was why they proceeded to the area.
When they arrived, seven of the escapees dropped to the ground and surrendered but Layson alleged that Antiquena, who was allegedly armed with a .38 revolver, attacked Villamor, prompting the latter to shoot.
They recovered the revolver containing three live bullets and one spent shell in its cylinder.
Inspection
A team from the CPPO conducted an inspection on the northern police stations’ detention facilities last Friday and did not note any lapse.
However, Valmoria said it is the chief of police’s job to supervise his personnel and make sure the jail guard maintains a level of security consciousness.
“There is no need to wait for an inspection team. This (inspection) should be done regularly by the chief of police. Even if there is a jail guard, they must constantly be supervised by the chief of police,” Valmoria told reporters.
A request has been sent for the three minors to be moved to a minors’ rehabilitation facility in Argao, but no commitment order has been issued yet. (MEA)
