Marikina lawman faces extortion raps

Another policeman is facing charges for allegedly accosting a member of the US Navy on a false charge and robbing him of his money worth P18,000 shortly after midnight Monday in Marikina City.

Senior Superintendent Gabriel Lopez, Marikina police chief, said charges of robbery with intimidation were filed against Senior Police Officer 1 Edgar Mejia, 39, who is assigned with the Regional Police Intelligence Operations Unit. Also charged was Joel Nocino, 24, the unit’s maintenance man and a still unidentified cohort.

The victim, Don Ancheta, who was to be deployed to Hawaii last night, was in a bar with friends when Mejia and Nocino accosted him, introduced themselves as policemen, and accused him of possessing illegal drugs.

They searched him at gunpoint and took the money he had with him.  Kristine Felisse Mangunay.