Road rage suspect car found in Nueva Vizcaya; Headed for Bataan or Manila?

Officials of the Philippine National Police inspect the recovered car of Quiapo road rage killing suspect Vhon Martin Tanto at Camp Crame. Cops found the car in Aritao, Nueva Vizcaya. (PHOTO RELEASE FROM THE PNP)

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya—-The police on Thursday recovered the car used by Vhon Martin Tanto, the suspect in a road rage shooting murder in Quiapo, Manila, on Monday, and learned that Tanto was headed for Bataan.

Tanto left the red Hyundai Eon at a relative’s house in Aritao town on Wednesday, said Chief Insp. Joberman Videz, Aritao police chief.

The car was found parked near the farm house of Jonathan Leaño in Kirang village. Leaño is Tanto’s brother-in-law.

Tanto, an Army reservist, is the main suspect in the killing of gaming assistant Mark Vincent Geralde, following a roadside fistfight in Quiapo.

The sequence of events, including the actual shooting, was caught on CCTV (closed-circuit television) and was uploaded and shared online.

Police said an informant reported to police about the presence of the car at Leaño’s farm compound, about 700 meters from the Nueva Vizcaya-Benguet Road and about three kilometers from the national highway.

The Manila police have taken custody of the car, with conduction sticker MO 3745, which Tanto allegedly drove as a getaway vehicle.

According to documents, the car was registered under the name of Carlos Rada Jr. of Taguig City, from whom police believed Tanto bought the vehicle.

Leaño has been cooperating with the police, Videz said.

Tanto arrived at the Leaño house at about 6 p.m. on Tuesday and stayed there overnight. “(The Leaño couple) was unaware of the incident (shooting), and did not notice anything suspicious about Tanto, except for a bruise on his face,” said Videz.

On Wednesday, Tanto told Leaño he was traveling to Bataan province and asked to be driven to the Florida bus terminal in Banganan village on Leaño’s tricycle.

CCTV footage from the establishment showed that Tanto boarded a Manila-bound bus.

“Leaño found out Tanto was a suspect after he had left. They tried but failed to contact him through his mobile telephone,” Videz said.  SFM