A POLICE officer assigned at the Borbon Police Station was wounded in a robbery in a lodge on B.B. Cabahug St., Barangay Guizo, Mandaue City last Wednesday dawn.
Two men and a woman pointed a gun at the head of Hidden Lodge security guard Jeffry Guiniza, 32, and took his firearm at 2:30 a.m., said PO2 Jayson Flores of Mandaue Police Station 1.
Flores said one of the suspects entered the office of Ethel Baricuatro, cashier of the lodge, 29, and took P2,580 and her cellphone.
When the robbery happened, PO1 Erwin Pepito, assigned at the Borbon Police Station, had checked in at the lodge and heard the commotion outside.
Pepito went and grappled with the man who was holding a gun. The gun fired four times and hit the police officer.
Pepito was wounded on the chest, abdomen and neck.
The robbers immediately fled from the place on a motorcycle.
Flores said that Pepito was brought to the Mandaue City Hospital for treatment, but was transferred to Chong Hua Hospital for his surgery this morning.
Recovered
Authorities recovered a .357 revolver with six live ammunition and a mobile phone in the lodge.
With the use of the cellphone left by the suspects, members of the Mandaue Investigation and Detective Management Branch (IDMB) conducted a follow-up operation and arrested RJ Tampus, 25, and a 16-year-old female cohort in Sitio East Binabag in Barangay Tayud in Consolacion around 12 p.m.
Police then went to Barangay Tayud, Liloan to arrest the third suspect.
While they were about to arrest Rex Braga, 30, he fired his gun at the police. The authorities fired back and hit the suspect in his chest.
Braga was brought to Vicene Sotto Memorial Medical Center.
Identified
SP04 Marcos Noval Jr. of IDMB said the suspects were positively identified by the security guard and the cashier.
Noval said Tampus and the girl checked-in before the incident and served as a lookout, while Braga was the one who took the gun of Guiniza and the cash from Baricuatro.
IDMB personnel found two .38 revolver from Braga, which one was owned by Guiniza.
Suspects were now detained at the holding cell of a police station in Mandaue. Mae Angelica Genodiala USJR Intern