Cabbie drives holdupper to police station

CEBU CITY — A young man from Lapu-Lapu City got his second trip to jail, as a result of his fourth alleged robbery, when a cabbie he tried to rob drove him to the Pardo police station.

Dennis Tancinco, 22, who admitted being an Alpha Kappa Rho member, failed to get anything from the cabbie who drove his taxi to the police station.

The cabbie, who requested anonymity, claimed that Tancinco flagged him down in Barangay Buhisan, wanting to be taken to Barangay Tabunok in Talisay City.

Along the way, the cabbie said he sensed something sinister in Tancinco’s moves so he drove his taxi toward the police station.

But when they were approaching it, Tancinco suddenly asked him to stop, drew a gun and threatened to shoot the cabbie as he announced a hold-up.

The cabbie said he raced his taxi right into the police station. He then quickly left his vehicle and shouted for help. Tancinco tried to flee but policemen subdued him after a brief chase.

At the police station, Tancinco denied that he tried to rob the cabbie, saying he was sleeping while the vehicle was cruising. But this did not convince the police, who confiscated a caliber .38 revolver from him. He claimed that he was supposed to give the gun to a friend as a gift.

Superintendent Mariano Natuel, Pardo police chief, said Tancinco had three previous records of robberies.

He was first apprehended sometime in 2000 after he was implicated in a robbery with the notorious Nodalo group. He was released from jail early this year.

But only last month, Paula Blanco, a daughter of Mandaue City administrator Serafin Blanco, reported to the Guadalupe police that Tancinco allegedly took her digital camera after he visited her at her house.

Another alleged victim, John Paul Baltazar, also reported to the police that Tancinco allegedly took his mother’s jewelry worth P43,000 when Tancinco visited his house also last month. — Freeman News Service