Cops nab 3 men in teen’s slay, C-5 robberies

The Makati City police have arrested three suspects in the killing of a teenage boy, who was shot dead while with his girlfriend last week, as they were also linked to the spate of robberies and another shooting incident that wounded a retired policeman.

JR Cocjin, 21; John Patrick Orias, 20; and Jonathan Lelis, 24, all residents of Barangay Rizal, are facing murder charges over the November 14 attack on Allan Maynard Manalo, 17, on Upper Azusena Street, Barangay Pembo.

Makati City Police Director Senior Supt. Gerardo Umayao said the three men were also the suspects in the November 17 shooting incident that wounded a teenage girl and a retired policeman, Bias Fabros, in Barangay Pembo.

They were also suspected of being the group behind recent robberies that victimized pedestrians on C-5 Road, and a convenience store in Barangay Guadalupe Viejo.

Seized from the suspects was a loaded Para .45-caliber pistol, which Cocjin allegedly used to shoot Manalo in the head.

The three men denied involvement in the killing when presented on Wednesday before the media at the Southern Police District headquarters, but according to Umayao, they confessed to the crime upon their arrest last Monday as they described Manalo as a “member of a rival gang” encroaching on their turf.             /kga