Teen car theft suspect arrested anew for gun, grenade

MANILA, Philippines - Last arrested in August for allegedly stealing a government official’s sport utility vehicle, a 16-year-old boy was again apprehended in Quezon City recently for possessing a gun and a grenade, police said yesterday.

The Quezon City Police District (QCPD) said that after his arrest, the boy was identified by complainant Ruel Nolasco as the person who pointed a gun at him and drove off his silver Toyota Hi-Lux (ZBT-387) on Oct. 8 in Angeles City, Pampanga.

Inspector Rogelio Diaz, chief investigator of the QCPD’s Anti-Carnapping Unit, said they charged the 16-year-old suspect, the son of a man wanted for carjacking, with illegal possession of firearms and explosives before the city prosecutor’s office.

Diaz said the suspect met with another boy at a fastfood restaurant along EDSA near the corner of Congressional Avenue on Oct. 13. He said they believe they were discussing carjacking activities.

When they came out, the two boys were accosted at around 5:30 p.m. by police officers conducting the surveillance on them. A .38 caliber revolver and a fragmentation hand grenade was found in the suspect’s belt bag. The other boy was later released.

After the boy’s arrest last Thursday, the QCPD received an alarm from the Pampanga police about Nolasco’s carjacked pickup.

“The report from Pampanga said that there were two boys involved in the carjacking and one of the suspects who pointed the gun at Nolasco fit the description of the boy,” Diaz said.

In August, the teenager and his mother were arrested for their alleged involvement in the theft of the black Toyota Fortuner (NOG-594) of Social Security System vice president Alfredo Villasanta in Quezon City.

The boy was left behind after his father and two other companions drove away with the Fortuner, which was recovered after the boy’s mother revealed where her husband took the vehicle.

Diaz said the boy was turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development but was later released to his mother, who managed to post bail.