Quezon City cop’s ‘instinct’ leads to rob gang

QCPD director Chief Supt. Guillermo Eleazar questions tandem-riding robbery suspects (from left) Renato Urmeneta Jr., John Paul Legaspi, John Christopher Ramirez and Wency Compendio. —EDWIN BACASMAS

A “policeman’s instinct” led to the arrest over the weekend of two motorcycle-riding robbers who were eyeing their next victim.

PO2 Jomar Madarang, a tactical motorcycle rider assigned at the Quezon City Police District’s Masambong station, was on patrol on Road 1 near Mindanao Avenue around 5 p.m. on Saturday when he passed by two men on a motorcycle.

Madarang, along with PO1 Aldrin Banag, had been sent to the area to conduct patrols following a series of robberies.

He noted that the Yamaha Mio motorcycle did not have a license plate and fitted the description of the vehicle used by the suspects in police reports.

Madarang said his police instinct kicked in when he also saw that the two motorcycle riders were looking at an elderly woman with a shoulder bag.

“So I went back and flagged them down. While I was asking them for their license, I saw the rider reaching for something from his waist and the driver preparing to escape,” he added.

Madarag said he immediately stepped in front of the motorcycle and placed the two men under arrest.

Wency Compendio, 19, and John Christopher Ramirez, 26, yielded a .38-caliber revolver, a replica of a 9-mm airsoft pistol, a grenade and three cell phones.

A follow-up operation conducted by the police on Monday morning led to the arrest of the suspects’ accomplice, John Paul Legaspi, 20, in Barangay Balingasa, Quezon City.

Supt. Carlito Mantala, Masambong police station commander, said the three suspects were involved in at least eight robberies carried out by men on motorcycles in his area of jurisdiction.

Investigation showed that Legaspi has two standing arrest warrants for robbery and violation of the Comprehensive Law on Firearms and Ammunition issued by two Caloocan City courts.

According to the police, the three men were also involved in the robbery of a laundry shop on Anahaw Street in Barangay Veterans Village on Oct. 22. The motorcycle used by the suspects was discovered to have been stolen from Edrick Insigne on Sept. 17.

Chief Supt. Guillermo Eleazar, QCPD director, said they were encouraging more victims to come forward so they could file more cases against the suspects.

“All these cases are bailable so that’s why we want to file as many cases against them,” he said in a press conference on Tuesday. One of the suspects’ victims, Roseed Manalastas, has positively identified the three men as the ones who robbed her and her husband at gunpoint on Oct. 2, also on Road 1.

Madarang’s actions, meanwhile, were lauded on social media with several Facebook groups such as the Riders Anti-Crime and Emergency Response praising him for thinking on his feet.

“Salute to you, Sir,” read one comment. “Good job,” said another.

“Thank you for catching these criminals. I hope we can finally stop these [tandem-riding] criminals who simply laugh at the police,” commented a netizen.