TARGETED FAMILY Mark Joseph Reyes and his mother Jasmin—son and wife of alleged car theft ring leader Mark Lester “Mac” Reyes—lie dead in a taxicab Tuesday after being ambushed minutes after leaving the Quezon City Hall of Justice, where the young Reyes was on trial also for car theft. MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
Any family patriarch would surely come out and cry for justice, but it’s highly unlikely in this case.
The son and wife of suspected car theft ring leader Mark Lester “Mac” Reyes were killed Tuesday in a brazen daytime ambush at a busy section of Quezon City, shortly after leaving the courthouse, police said.
Mark Joseph Reyes, himself on trial for car theft, and mother Jasmin had just gotten into a taxi when shot pointblank by two motorcycle-riding men who tailed the cab just before noon at the corner of Elliptical Road and Visayas Avenue.
The victims’ identities were not immediately established after the shooting. Later in the afternoon, Quezon City Police District director Chief Supt. Richard Albano said they were found to be Mark Lester’s family members based on the piece of paper recovered from Jasmin’s pocket indicating the schedule of Mark Joseph’s next hearing on May 6 at QC Regional Trial Court Branch 94.
Father and son have been implicated in a string of car theft cases, including the seizure of the Toyota Fortuner of then Social Security System vice president Alfredo Villasanta in August 2011.
Mark Lester managed to escape with Villasanta’s vehicle while Mark Joseph was arrested in September 2013 while driving a stolen Honda Civic.
Based on an account given to the police by cab driver Jun Gobis, Mark Joseph, Jasmin and another woman hailed his Valentino taxi inside the City Hall compound, at the back of the Quezon City Hall of Justice.
The Reyeses sat in the back, while their female companion, then talking on her cell phone, took the front passenger seat. The three asked to be brought to Monumento in Caloocan City.
But as the taxi reached the Kalayaan Avenue exit, the woman got off and told the Reyeses that she would just catch up with them later at Monumento.
Upon reaching Elliptical Road, Gobis stopped to meet fellow taxi driver Rommel Dinulos who, according to Gobis, earlier sent him a text message because he wanted to borrow some tools.
The two men parked their cabs along the perimeter of Quezon Memorial Circle near Visayas Avenue. Dinulos was walking up to Gobis, who was still in the driver’s seat, when the gunmen stopped next to the Valentino cab and fired at the victims through the right glass window.
The fear-stricken Dinulos rushed back to his cab for cover while Gobis also jumped out of his taxi.
The gunmen, who both wore helmets, also threatened to shoot a dump truck driver who honked his horn upon witnessing the incident, which also caused a traffic jam in the area. They were last seen heading toward North Avenue.
The Reyeses’ female companion in the cab, who turned out to be a cousin of the victims, later met with the police and confirmed the victims’ identities.
Quoting witnesses, Albano said the assailants used a black motorcycle with license plate TD 5174.
Mark Joseph and Jasmin died on the spot after being shot several times with a .45-cal. pistol, investigators said.