End of the road for jeepney holduppers

Police yesterday collared yesterday four members of the notorious "Estribo Gang" believed responsible for a series of jeepney holdups in Navotas.

Navotas police chief Superintendent Roberto Villanueva identified the suspects as Fidelito San Luis, 24; Christopher Silvestre, 17; Alexander San Luis, 20; and John Ong, 20, all residents of North Bay Boulevard North (NBBN), Navotas.

Police reports showed the suspects were apprehended after they robbed trader Anacleto Flores, 24 and his wife Olivia, 30, while riding a Navotas-bound passenger jeepney.

PO3 Noel Banares, officer-on-case, said at 3 a.m., five men posed as passengers of a jeepney plying the Navotas-Divisoria route.

Upon reaching the approach to the Muralla Bridge, the suspects announced the holdup. The couple, who were the only passengers, were then divested of their cash and jewelry.

The five suspects quickly fled with their loot. However, the couple shouted for help, which caught the attention of patrolling barangay tanods .

A brief chase ensued and four of the five suspects were cornered. They were later turned over to the police and have been detained while appropriate charges are being prepared against them.

Meanwhile, police are now hunting at least three men after they stabbed dead a 32-year-old-woman yesterday morning while she was walking along an alley in Barangay Piñahan, Quezon City.

Victim Rosalinda Badeo, of 519 Sunflower Street, Barangay Central, suffered seven stab wounds in the body and died on the spot.

Investigators said Badeo was walking in front of the Napocor gate at BIR Road in Barangay Piñahan at 3 a.m. when the killers jumped on her and stabbed her repeatedly in the chest and shoulders.

Sources said they have yet to determine the motives of the assailants but said that the men could have been "hired killers" and that this could be simply a case of "mistaken identity." – With Matthew Estabillo