Brave, bleeding cop nails FX cab robbers

A deep wound in the neck failed to discourage a police undercover agent from having two FX taxi robbers arrested in Marikina City Friday night.

SPO4 Rustum Luces, of the Eastern Police District (EPD) District Police Intelligence and Operations Group (DPIOG) was stabbed in the neck by one of the robbers at the height of a robbery inside an FX taxi he was driving in Marikina City.

With his life on the line, Luces drove on to the nearest police precinct and his responding colleagues arrested two of the robbers, Romeo Austreo, 17 and Jojo Manelo, 18, both residents of Antipolo City.

Senior Superintendent Simeon Dizon Jr., EPD director commended Luces, who is presently confined at the Rodriguez Memorial Center in Marikina City.

Dizon said Luces was dispatched by Superintendent Federico Castro, EPD intelligence chief, to conduct a surveillance mission against FX taxi robbers operating around the boundaries of the cities of Antipolo, Pasig and Marikina.

Disguising himself as an FX taxi driver, Luces was driving his rented vehicle (plate number WCS 870) along Marcos Highway at about 11 p.m. when Austreo, Manelo and an unidentified companion announced the holdup.

At knifepoint, the suspects divested the passengers, Fatima Yumiaco, 34; Edward Evangelista, 29; Erlinda Alvarez, 40; and Reynaldo Dizon, 29, of their wallets and personal belongings.

Instead of continuing his route, an alert Luces turned the steering wheel towards the nearby Police Community Precinct No. 4 in Marikina City.

Sensing danger, one of the suspects, who was seated behind Luces, repeatedly stabbed him in the neck.

With blood oozing down his neck, Luces drove on, prompting the robbers to jump out of the running vehicle.

Policemen at the PCP 4 alerted by Luces, ran after the suspects and Austreo and Manelo were cornered after a brief chase. The suspects yielded two fan knives and the wallets and personal belongings of their victims. – Non Alquitran