Female cop in hot water

A jealous lady cop shot her cop-lover in a quarrel that led to a stray bullet hitting a bystander at the police detachment early yesterday morning in Monumento, Caloocan City.

Police are now hunting Northern Police District Office (NPDO) operative, PO1 Emily Garcia, after she reportedly shot P02 Celso Santos, her alleged boyfriend, with her own service firearm as they argued inside the Bonifacio Monument Circle (BMC) police detachment.

The firing resulted in the injury of 30-year-old Joseph del Rosario, who took a bullet in the left foot as he passed by the police station.

Garcia, who is assigned to the office of Deputy Director for Operations Senior Superintendent Raul Gonzales, went to the BMC detachment around 3 a.m. allegedly reeking of liquor and looking for Santos.

The lovebirds then went inside the detachment’s comfort room where they kept on arguing. The verbal tussle apparently got out of hand after Garcia repeatedly fired her gun at Santos. All shots missed Santos, who tried to disarm Garcia, police said.

Although still feeling groggy, Garcia quickly went out of the station and left in a huff, leaving her handgun.

Meanwhile, a police officer assigned at Camp Crame, believed to be the leader of a robbery-hold-up gang operating in northern Metro Manila was finally locked up in jail after his arrest in Malabon City over the weekend.

Northern Police District Office (NPDO) intelligence and investigation chief Superintendent Honorato Donato identified the suspect as PO3 Luthgardo Niedo, detailed at the Philippine National Police Headquarters at Camp Crame, Quezon City.

Niedo was arrested by combined operatives of the Malabon police and NPDO. Donato said Niedo was arrested around 11:30 a.m. Friday in his house at Gozon Compound, Letre Road, Malabon City.

He was arrested on the strength of a warrant issued by Malabon Regional Trial Court Branch 73 Judge Benjamin Antonio on charges of robbery.

Police said Niedo has long been on the NPDO list of police scalawags for being the alleged leader of a robbery gang that operates in the Camanava area and nearby provinces. – Jerry Botial, Pete Laude