Call them the ‘Donut Gang’

A former policeman and his cohort were arrested Friday for allegedly stealing a spare tire from a vehicle parked at a shopping mall in Quezon City and shooting at a security guard who tried to accost them earlier this week.

Former PO2 Nomer Pacheco of the Southern Police District and Richard Fontanilla were arrested in Tondo, Manila, Friday morning.

Senior Supt. Richard Albano, Quezon City police chief, said Pacheco and Fontanilla rented a sport utility vehicle and used it in stealing spare tires, earning for themselves the monicker “Donut Gang.”

“They often strike in malls and steal expensive spare tires. They look for malls where it is easy to escape,” Albano told reporters.

Pacheco, Albano said, is the leader of the gang and was the one who borrowed an SUV from a friend on the pretext of going on a trip out of town.

Police traced them through the address Pacheco gave to the vehicle’s caretaker, whom Albano identified as Armando Saludares.

Senior Supt. Joel Pagdilao, Quezon City police deputy director for administration, said Pacheco was formerly assigned to the Parañaque City police station. He had been absent without leave since 2006, Pagdilao said.

Pacheco is considered dropped from the roll, Albano said.

Albano said Pacheco and Fontanilla were being linked to the robbery and shooting at the Robinson’s Magnolia parking area in New Manila, Quezon City, on Wednesday.

A security guard at the shopping mall positively identified the two suspects as the same men who shot at him while escaping in a sport utility vehicle on N. Domingo Street.

But because he had blown out the tires of the two men’s vehicle with gunshots, they were forced to flee on foot, leaving their loot behind, a spare tire for a luxury vehicle owned by Gilbert Alvarez.