Gun-for-hire group leader, companion die in Rizal clash

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SAN PEDRO CITY – Two suspects, among them the alleged leader of a gun-for-hire and car theft group, were killed in a police shootout in Binangonan town in Rizal province, on Sunday afternoon, police said Monday.

Supt. Chitadel Gaoiran, spokesperson of the Calabarzon police, identified the suspects as Jeffrey Landingin, alleged leader of the Landingin Group, and his companion, Richard Alcantara.

Gaoiran said Landingin and Alcantara were in a blue Honda Accord with plate number MUS 777 when the police first spotted them about 11 a.m. on Sunday in San Mateo, Rizal.

She said an “alarm” had been put out by the Highway Patrol Group for the Honda Accord, which police said was stolen.

In a phone interview, Gaoiran said the police drove after the suspects until they came across a checkpoint in Antipolo City.

Instead of yielding, the suspects allegedly sped past the checkpoint towards Binangonan town.

The police said the chase across two towns and a city in Rizal ended when the suspects reached Benjie’s Apartelle, the group’s alleged hideout in Barangay Pantok, Binangonan, at about 3 p.m.

The two men reportedly opened fire, which prompted the shootout. Both Landingin and Alcantara were killed in the firefight.

Aside from the stolen car, the police said they recovered guns of calibers .45 and .38, a bullet-resistant vest, hand-held radios, and cellphones from the suspects’ apartment. /cbb