1 dead, 1 hurt as armed men carjack actor's SUV

MANILA, Philippines - A man was killed and the driver of actor Rafael Rosell IV was wounded when two armed men commandeered the actor’s sports utility vehicle in Quezon City Friday night.

Case investigator Police Officer 3 Jaime Jimena said that based on accounts of the guards of the Capitol Homesite Subdivision, the two suspects, who were aboard a black Toyota Altis (ZGY-110), may have been tailing the actor’s Toyota Fortuner, driven by Rumel Quiozon. Rosell himself is reportedly out of the country, police said.

Quiozon had just parked the vehicle in front of his house to drop off some groceries at around 9 p.m. Friday. Jimena said Quiozon left the vehicle door open. The driver said he heard the car door shut and saw the suspects driving away.

Quiozon suffered gashes on his left hand and right forearm during the attack, but Roseland Jacinto, one of his neighbors who attempted to run after the suspects, sustained multiple gunshot wounds and later died at the Quezon City General Hospital.

Jimena said they are checking with the Land Transportation Office to verify the ownership of the Toyota Altis. He added that they will also ask the actor on other possible motives for the attack.

Jimena said Quiozon parks his employer’s vehicle in front of his house because the condominium building where the actor maintains a unit does not have enough parking slots.

Retired cops tapped vs carjackers

In a related development, Superintendent Nestor Abalos, Intelligence Division chief of the Quezon City Police District, said a number of retired policemen who used to be anti-carjacking operatives of the QCPD have remained of service to them by providing intelligence against carjacking syndicates.

“These retired policemen with years of experience in anti-carjacking are of big help to us,” he said.

Abalos said since car theft and carjacking prove to be “very lucrative,” some groups or individuals just resume these activities after serving time in jail or posting bail.

In the case of groups whose leaders had been killed in past encounters with the police, some of their remaining members form new syndicates, he said.

Abalos said the background provided by retired anti-carjacking operatives helps them find out about the whereabouts of groups or individuals with arrest records for carjacking and car theft.

“They give us tips, for example, that this certain person had been jailed with the case handled by a particular former policeman. They would advise us to check whether a certain individual had been released or posted bail,” he said.