POLICE arrested on Friday, February 1, four suspects involved in the killing of Barangay Bagong Silangan chairwoman Crisel Beltran, Quezon City Police District (QCPD) Director Joyet Esquivel said on Sunday, February 3.
Esquivel identified the arrested suspects as Teofilo Formanes, 48, market inspector at Commonwealth Market and brothers Ruel Juab, 38, delivery boy; Orlando Juab, 32 and Joppy Juab, 28, both vendors.
He said Formanes was arrested first on Friday morning at the Commonwealth Market after he was positively identified by one of the witnesses as one of the four persons who gunned down Beltran last January 30.
Esquivel said Formanes violently resisted the arrest and tried to pull his firearm but was subsequently subdued by the arresting officers.
Confiscated from his possession were a caliber 9 mm pistol, nine live ammunitions, a black Yamaha Mio Sporty motorcycle without a plate number, two baseball caps, a cellular phone, and three hand held radios.
While undergoing interrogation, Esquivel said Formanes admitted his involvement on the killing and identified the Juab brothers, who were arrested in a follow-up operation along Steve Street in Barangay Commonwealth, as his cohorts.
Esquivel said the Juab brothers resisted and physically attacked the police when arrested but were also subdued.
Seized from them were shooters caliber 9mm pistol loaded with 12 live ammunition, a home-made caliber 38 revolver with five live ammunitions, a hand grenade, a Magnum caliber 22 revolver and four cellular phones.
Esquivel said also arrested during the said operation for allegedly preventing the police from arresting the Juab brothers were Miguel Juab, 26, Mangmang Rasia, 26, and Boy Fernandez 52.
He said Formanes also revealed that a certain Cosette Capistrano from the admin office of the Commonwealth Market kept the firearm of another suspect in the ambush, who he identified as Warren Juab, the latter’s cousin.
Esquivel said Capistrano led the operatives to Warren’s house in Barangay Holy Spirit but shouted and gave warning to Warren which prompted him to escape along with another suspect identified as Dutch Boy Bello, 34.
He said Warren’s wife and Angelie Juab, 27 were arrested during the operation for facilitating the escape of the two suspects.
Angelie yielded 23 pieces of ammunition for caliber 45 and a cellular phone.
Police also recovered a black Yamaha Mio 125 and 12 gauge shotgun ammunition.
Cases of murder, frustrated murder, attempted murder, and illegal possession of firearms in relation to the Omnibus Election Code was referred for inquest to the City Prosecutor’s Office against Formanes and the Juab brothers. (SunStar Philippines)