2 dead, 2 cops held in foiled Angeles City robbery

ANGELES CITY—Two policemen were arrested while two of their suspected cohorts were killed in a shootout with members of the  city police and personnel of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) in Barangay Ninoy Aquino here on Monday.

Police declined to disclose any information on the incident pending the drafting of an official report on the incident by Monday afternoon.

But initial information obtained by the Inquirer from sources, who asked not to be quoted because of lack of authority to talk about the incident, showed that the incident happened in Marisol Subdivision, where the suspects tried to rob a poultry trader.

They said both the city police and the Pampanga CIDG received a tip about the planned robbery by a group that included policemen.

On Monday morning, policemen positioned themselves near the businessman’s house and noticed two men on board a motorcycle and a white Mercedes Benz van in the area.

At 10 a.m., a tricycle arrived at the front gate to fetch an employee of the businessman, who was to deposit money in a local bank.

“The would-be victim has been depositing money in the bank every Monday,” a source said.

While the tricycle was on its way to MacArthur Highway, the men on board the motorcycle blocked its path and robbed its occupants at gunpoint.

Policemen chased the motorcycle and rammed it. A gunfight reportedly ensued, resulting in the suspects’ death.

The Angeles policemen and CIDG personnel then accosted the white van’s occupants, who turned out to be policemen.

A source said the arrested policemen were in “floating status” at the city police office in Camp Tomas Pepito here.

Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan said he had prior knowledge of the planned robbery and relayed the information to the Angeles police officials.

“This was tipped to me by one of the would-be participants on Wednesday last week,” Pamintuan said. Jun Malig, Inquirer Central Luzon