Scion with ‘hot’ car flees cops with dad’s help

A scion of a wealthy Pasig City trader, whose brother was apprehended last year together with the so-called Valle Verde Boys car theft gang, escaped after being placed under arrest Friday evening by the police after a brief car chase from Mandaluyong City to Pasig City for driving an alleged ‘hot’ car.

Superintendent Ramon Gatan, chief of the Traffic Management Group-National Capital Region (TMG-NCR) identified the suspect as George Umale, a resident of 5 Guijo St., Valle Verde 3, Pasig City.

Gatan claimed that Umale was able to escape after his arrest at the intersection of Pioneer Street and Shaw Boulevard, Pasig City at about 7:30 p.m. when his businessman father, Leonardo, accompanied by his lawyers, made a scene that distracted the attention of the apprehending police anti-car theft operatives.

In his hasty escape, the young Umale abandoned a plate-less blue Porsche Boxter worth P5.3 million, Gatan reported.

Police reports showed that operatives led by Chief Inspector Lorenzo Holanday initially spotted the luxury vehicle without license plates in the vicinity of Guadalupe, Makati being driven by a male with a female companion.

"The team signaled the driver of the car to pull over, but instead, he sped off towards Pioneer street, driving against the traffic flow until he was overtaken near the intersection of Pioneer street and Shaw Boulevard," Gatan in his report to TMG director, Chief Superintendent Renato Paredes, said.

Cornered, the male driver, who turned out to be Umale, was placed under arrest afterwhich he called his father on the phone. The arresting officers also called for back-up.

"The apprehending officers called for back-up, but while waiting for reinforcements, Rizal assistant provincial prosecutors Paz Yson, lawyers Ronaldo Caringal and Hans Santos arrived, intimidated the arresting officers and intervened with the legitimate police operation by helping the young Umale escape with the ignition key of the motor vehicle," Gatan said.

Probers later learned the Porsche car had been sold to the elder Umale for P5.3 million by Anton Sy, through an intermediary, but the sale was not legally consummated as the two checks issued by Umale to Sy reportedly bounced.

Since then, police said, Sy could not get back the car from Umale until police operatives intercepted it the other day.

The alleged hot car was towed and is now impounded at the TMG’s headquarters at Camp Crame.

In August last year, seven members of the so-called Valle Verde car theft gang, whose members were mostly scions of prominent families, including John Umale, George’s brother, were rounded by agents of the defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF) in a series of anti-car theft operations.

The Valle Verde car theft gang was allegedly headed by Florencio Fianza Jr., son of a police general now occupying a key position in Camp Crame.

The other suspects, who were previously detained at the PAOCTF detention cell, aside from Fianza and John Umale were Jason Javier, Norman Dimla, Roberto Naval, Renan Morales and Jojo Malongat.