Armed man caught loitering in Sta. Cruz

Manila police officers nabbed a suspected robber who was allegedly looking for a victim along a dimly lit portion of Avenida Avenue in Sta. Cruz, Manila Tuesday night.

Chief Inspector Alexander Navarette, who heads the Mayor’s Special Action Team, identified the suspect as Dolfo Baltazar, 30, a native of Roxas City, Capiz and with no fixed address in Metro Manila.

Baltazar yielded a homemade .38 caliber snub-nose revolver with four bullets.

According to Navarette, his team spotted Baltazar acting suspiciously. Police had been conducting nightly patrols following reports of robberies in the area.

MSAT men found a gun tucked into Baltazar’s waistband. The suspect said he was going to deliver the gun to his brother somewhere in Manila.

“He used a worn-out alibi. (Who) would bring a loaded gun, an unlicensed one, without a specific purpose?” Navarette said.

MSAT is now verifying Baltazar’s police records.

Charges of illegal possession of firearm and ammunition were filed against the suspect, even as Navarette called on robbery victims to come to the MSAT office for identification of the suspect.  — Nestor Etolle