Raps filed vs coed’s shooter

Charges of robbery and frustrated homicide were filed yesterday against a holdup man who shot a graduating female college student who refused to part with her cellular phone during a heist in Sampaloc, Manila last Wednesday night.

Suspect Roselo de la Cruz, 28, a Bahala Na Gang member, of 1025 Prudencio street in Sampaloc, was positively identified by Paula Patricia Chavez, 20, from her hospital bed as the man who hit her on the head with the butt of a gun and then shot her in the face after grabbing her cell phone.

Chief Inspector Alejandro Yanquiling, chief of the WPD’s Homicide Section and leader of its Night Hawk Squad, said De la Cruz was arrested after WPD director Chief Superintendent Pedro Bulaong ordered a manhunt for the suspect.

Yanquiling said De la Cruz is also responsible for a series of robberies against students at the University Belt area in Sampaloc.

After gathering intelligence reports on the suspect, Yanquiling’s Night Hawk Squad, beefed up by operatives of the District Intelligence and Investigation Division and the Sampaloc police station, swooped down on a crowded neighborhood on Tagaytay street in Caloocan City, resulting in the arrest of De la Cruz.

Recovered from the suspect was a caliber .38 revolver with ammunition.

Investigations showed that at about 10 p.m. last Feb. 11, Sanchez, an architecture student at the University of Sto. Tomas, was waiting for a ride with a female friend at the corner of Piy Margal and Ma. Cristina streets in Sampaloc when the suspect on board a mountain bike held her up at gunpoint.

Sanchez refused to part with her cell phone, prompting the suspect to hit her on the head then shoot her in the face.

The suspect fled after taking the victim’s cell phone while Sanchez’s friend and bystanders rushed her to the UST Hospital.