Rookie cop takes on 5 robbers: 1 dead, 1 arrested

A rookie policeman single-handedly fought off five armed jeepney robbers in Binondo, Manila Tuesday night, killing one suspect and arresting another.

Police Officer 2 Dionisio Dimazana is one of several policemen on foot patrol tasked by Meisic police station chief Superintendent Nelson Yabut to conduct surveillance and monitoring of the C.M. Recto street in Binondo due to reported rampant robberies.

While doing his rounds, Dimazana reportedly noticed a group of five men alight from a Divisoria-bound passenger jeepney at the corner of Camba street as the passengers shouted for help. Dimazana chased the fleeing suspects, but one of the men fired at him but missed. Dimazana returned fire and hit the one who shot at him, while another suspect surrendered when the lawman trained his gun at him. Three others managed to escape.

Responding policemen rushed the wounded suspect to the Gat Andres Bonifacio Memorial Medical Center but he died while undergoing treatment. He was identified as Raymond Jarabo, 25, an alleged Batang City Jail gang member. Police said they recovered a pen gun from Jarabo’s possession. A paper bag containing the suspects’ loot – a cellular phone, a jacket and P400 – was also recovered.

The arrested suspect was identified as Joel Catala, 25, also an alleged member of the Batang City Jail gang. A fan knife was recovered from him, according to police. Catala also mentioned the names of their companions during interrogation.

At the police station, four of the victims identified Catala as one of the five men who held them up. Seaman Edelito Villador, 32, also identified the recovered items as his personal belongings. The victims said the suspects used a gun and knives in robbing them.

Yabut commended Dimazana for his prompt response to the crime, which led to the neutralization of a notorious robbery gang operating in Binondo. A follow-up team of operatives is conducting a manhunt for the rest of the suspects.