JOAVAN PLEADS NOT GUILTY
JOAVAN Fernandez pleaded not guilty on charges of malicious mischief and direct assault filed against him by police.
Fernandez, adopted son of Talisay City Mayor Socrates Fernandez, was arraigned before Judge Pamela Uy of the Municipal Trial Court in Cities Branch 6 last Friday.
Joavan was supposed to be arraigned last June 24 but he failed to appear, prompting the court to issue a warrant of arrest against him.
The judge later lifted the arrest order after Joavan sought the court’s reconsideration.
Joavan was charged for allegedly ramming his vehicle into a police car driven by Chief Insp. George Ylanan, former chief of Cebu City’s Investigation and Detective Management Branch (IDMB), last Feb. 6.
Joavan, who drove a Honda Civic, was cornered in Sindulan Street in barangay Mabolo, Cebu City but managed to escape by ramming the Mitsubishi L200 patrol car driven by Ylanan.
After Joavan rammed them a second time, Ylanan drew his .45 pistol and fired in Joavan ‘s direction to stop him.
The shots failed to stop Joavan as he rammed the patrol car a third time pushing the vehicle to the wall on the left side of the one way street and giving him enough space to escape.
Police found at least 20 packs believed to contain shabu inside Joavan ‘s vehicle which was abandoned in barangay Carreta, Cebu City.
Joavan, however, was nowhere to be found./REPORTER ADOR VINCENT S. MAYOL
THREE MEN NABBED IN DRUG BUSTS
THREE persons were arrested in separate drug bust operations in barangay Opao, Mandaue City.
Members of the Opao police first arrested Mario Batis, 46, whose arrest led to the apprehension of Francisco Iway, 50, and Lester Puno, 44.
Insp. Wilson Abot, chief of Opao police, said that around 11 p.m. last Saturday, a poseur buyer bought a pack of suspected shabu worth P200 from Batis.
When the shabu and money changed hands, police arrested Bais.
The buy-bust money and five more packs of suspected shabu were recovered from Batis, said police.
At the police precinct, Batis revealed that Iway was also into peddling of illegal drugs.
A separate buy-bust operation was conducted that led to the arrest of Iway, who sold a pack of shabu worth P200 to a police asset.
A medium pack containing white crystalline substance was seized from Iway, said police.
Puno, who was present during the buy-bust, was also arrested after a sachet of suspected shabu was found in his possession, said police./REPORTER JUCELL MARIE P. CUYOS