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CEBU CITY — The son of Talisay City Mayor Socrates Fernandez bolted out of the city’s police detention cell late Wednesday night, three days after he was arrested for illegal possession of explosive and firearms.
Joavan Fernandez escaped around 10:45 p.m. when the jailer, Police Officer 2 Leandro Azarcon, agreed to let him out of the detention cell so he could embrace his live-in partner, Mayet, and their children, who were visiting the mayor’s son.
Fernandez was supposed to be transferred to the Talisay City Rehabilitation and Detention Center in the mountain barangay (village) of Maghaway on Thursday after he was not allowed to post bail on the charge of possession of an explosive.
Fernandez was arrested inside his father’s house in Southgate Subdivision in Barangay Bulacao on Monday when the police served him an arrest warrant issued by Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) Judge Mario Manayon for slight physical injury.
During the arrest, the police recovered from Joavan a grenade and a Dillinger Black Widow revolver with ammunition.
The police then filed charges of illegal possession of an explosive, a non-bailable offense, illegal possession of an unlicensed firearm and violation of the Commission on Elections gun ban against Fernandez before the Talisay City Prosecutor’s Office.
The mayor’s son was detained at the Talisay police detention cell inside the Talisay City Hall in Barangay Lawaan II pending his transfer to the city jail.
Based on their initial investigation, said Senior Police Officer 1 Mike Espina of the Talisay City Police, Joavan was visited by his live-in partner, Mayet, and children about 10:45 p.m.
Espina said that before Joavan escaped, Mayet approached Azarcon who was sitting at the table just beside the detention cell and offered him a bottle of soft drink.
Joavan then appealed to Azarcon to allow him to get out of the cell so he could hug Mayet and their children, he added.
But when Joavan was let out of the detention cell, he ran outside the Talisay City Hall and boarded a green Mitsubishi Adventure sports utility vehicle, which then went towards the direction of Barangay Pooc, Talisay, Espina said.
The two blue guards at the Lapu-Lapu City Hall who were on duty also failed to stop Joavan, he said.