3 car thieves nabbed

A man allegedly involved in a series of robberies and car thefts was shot and wounded while two of his cohorts were arrested following a shootout with policemen in Mandaluyong City yesterday.

Police identified the wounded suspect as Maximo Ogario, 50, of Sampaloc, Manila. He sustained a gunshot wound in the body and is currently being treated at an undisclosed hospital.

The two men arrested were identified as Redentor Balcos and Joeral de la Cruz, also of Sampaloc, Manila.

Another suspect was able to elude arrest.

Balcos and De la Cruz are now detained at a Mandaluyong police station.

Recovered from the suspects were two caliber .45 Colt pistols, one four bullets and the other with six bullets;  and one  9 mm Pietro Beretta pistol with 11 bullets.

The suspects’ vehicle, which was a hot car, was spotted by members of the Mandaluyong police Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team and Makati police during a surveillance operation.

Mandaluyong police investigators SPO3 Ruferto Balsamo Jr. and PO2 Hector Aspa, said the Honda Civic with fake plates was spotted at around 6:40 a.m. at the corner of Boni Avenue and Ortigas in Barangay New Zaniga, Mandaluyong.

Four patrol cars gave chase to the suspects’ vehicle.

Upon reaching the corner of E. De Leon and I. Lopez streets in New Zaniga, the Civic was forced to stop after hitting a flower box.

The suspects alighted from the vehicle and started firing at the officers.

Ogario was hit as the policemen retaliated.

Joining Balsamo and Aspa were Senior Inspector Jose Victor Santos, Senior Inspector Montalbo Palma III, of the Mandaluyong police; SPO1 Romeo Santos and PO3 Frederick Ganot, both of the Mandaluyong SWAT team; and SPO2  Enrico Arciaga, of the Makati police.

The police team had been following up on a case of a stolen vehicle and a series of robberies in Mandaluyong, San Juan, Makati City and Quezon City.