A motorcycle-riding robbery suspect who preyed on Indian moneylenders was killed in an encounter with the local police after pulling another heist the other day in Valenzuela City.
Joel Malasaga, 22, a native of Javier, Leyte and resident of Barangay Marulas, was shot dead in a running gunbattle with a team of police officers led by Chief Inspector Danilo Bugay, Station Investigation and Detective Management Bureau (SIDMB) chief, at 11:40 a.m. along Parada Road in Barangay Parada.
Malasaga’s unidentified companion eluded arrest.
Malasaga, riding in tandem with another suspect on a blue Honda XRM (TQ 9627) earlier, robbed Sarabjit Singh, 25, of some P6,000 at gunpoint.
They then robbed Noli Maximo, 45, and took his Motorstar motorcycle (ZS-4545) along Donesa street in Barangay Balubaran.
The two suspects then fled on separate motorcycles.
Maximo reported the incident to the police, who quickly responded. The pursuit operation led the operatives to Malasaga’s house, where the XRM was found abandoned by the other suspect. Malasaga chose to shoot it out with the police. The outnumbered Malasaga was killed on the spot.
Several witnesses identified Malasaga in a rogues’ photo gallery as having robbed and killed Avtar Singh, also a moneylender, last week.