Cop, pal linked to bike thefts killed in QC trap

A Camp Crame-based policeman and his alleged accomplice in a series of motorcycle thefts were killed early Thursday by the Quezon City police, who said an entrapment operation against the two suspects turned into a shootout.

Killed were PO1 Jay Rowan Poquiz, 31, a member of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Headquarters Support Services and a resident of Tondo, Manila; and another male who remained unidentified at press time.

Chief Insp. Rodelio Marcelo, chief of the Quezon City Police District’s (QCPD) Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit said Poquiz and the other suspect were targeted for an operation wherein a police asset would buy a stolen motorcycle from them.

According to Marcelo, the transaction was arranged at a gasoline station on Quirino Highway in Barangay Greater Lagro. But when Poquiz and his partner arrived on a motorcycle (1892 OE), they apparently “sensed the presence” of undercover policemen in the area and drove off.

Marcelo said one of the suspects fired shots at the pursuing teams from the QCPD anticar theft unit and Fairview station, and the PNP’s Task Force Tugis and the Intelligence Group.

The policemen returned fire and hit the two men near the Sacred Heart Novitiate on Quirino.

A loaded 9-mm Beretta pistol was retrieved from the slain Poquiz, while a .45-Colt pistol was recovered near the body of the other suspect.

The unidentified suspect was described to be aged 30 to 35, around 5’2” in height, slim and fair-skinned. He sported tattoos that read “Mikko” on his chest, “Jay Ar” on his left arm, “Pastor Bal” on his right arm and “Paul Henry” on his back.

QCPD anticar theft section chief Senior Insp. Rolando Lorenzo said Poquiz had long been absent without leave and was tagged as the leader of a robbery group particularly targeting motorcycles.

“They started in Manila and eventually expanded their operations across (the capital) and later to nearby provinces,” Lorenzo told the Inquirer. “They would use the stolen motorcycles for robbery, then sell the bikes later. If the stolen motorcycle is expensive, they would sell it immediately,” he added.

Citing information from the PNP Intelligence Group, Lorenzo said Poquiz’s gang had around nine members.

Follow-up operations were under way to capture the rest, he said. “The good thing here is that the leader has been neutralized.”