Ex-QC cop convicted of robbery resists arrest, shot dead by cops

PNP uniform: Arresting officers said they found a well-pressed police uniform inside the shanty where convicted robber and former cop Levi de Vera was tracked. De Vera resisted arrest, fired at the cops and was shot dead on Wednesday night (Aug. 10, 2016). (INQUIRER.NET FILE PHOTO)

MANILA — A former Quezon City policeman convicted of robbery in 2015 was shot dead after he fought it out with authorities who were about to arrest him Wednesday night outside his rented apartment.

PO1 Levi de Vera died from the gunshot wounds he sustained in the head and arm after he fired at members of the District Special Operations Unit of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) who were about to capture him for his 2012 robbery case involving an Indian national.

Senior Supt. Guillermo Eleazar, the QCPD director, said that they had received information that De Vera, who was absent without official leave in October 2015, was renting a shanty along Looban Masaya Street in Tandang Sora in Barangay Pasong Tamo.

Eleazar said that when the policemen introduced themselves to the 37-year-old convict and ordered him to surrender, De Vera suddenly drew his gun and fired at his former colleagues, triggering an exchange of gunfire. He added that police brought the suspect to Quezon City General Hospital for treatment but he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Authorities recovered from the crime scene a Colt .45 pistol, four fired cartridges, a hand grenade and a sachet containing suspected methamphetamine hydrochloride or “shabu.”

Eleazar said that De Vera’s well-ironed police uniform was found inside the shanty he was renting. He added they received information that the suspect was also allegedly selling illegal drugs in the area.

De Vera was convicted of robbery in August 2015 by the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 80 for stealing close to P25,000 worth of cash and gadgets from Indian national Hamid Reza Aghaali Maghazeh, who was flagged down by De Vera and an unidentified cohort along Tomas Morato Avenue in January 2012.  SFM/rga