Police said one of three men killed in a shootout with lawmen in Batangas last week was among those who allegedly robbed the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) branch in Cabuyao, Laguna.
Chief Superintendent Ricardo Padilla, Southern Tagalog police director, said the suspect, Danilo Letoquet, alias Bim, was slain along with his two companions, Joey Presquito and Jun Ceneta, when they shot it out with law enforcers in Barangay Sto. Cristo, San Jose town last July 1.
After the firefight, police recovered a caliber .45 pistol, a magazine and seven bullets for caliber .45, a 12-gauge shotgun, four shotgun bullets, a caliber .38 revolver, three caliber .38 bullets, 22 assorted empty shells, and the slain men’s Nissan Sentra.
Padilla said they later learned that Letoquet was one of those who pulled off the RCBC robbery last May 16, where 10 people were killed.
Padilla said bystanders identified Letoquet as the one who drove the getaway vehicle, a silver-gray Mitsubishi Adventure.
Reports reaching Camp Crame said Letoquet’s body was claimed by his brother Armando.
Police said Letoquet was an active member of the Royal Blood Gangsta and was involved in numerous killings and robbery-holdups.
Police said he was arrested but later freed on bail for the P220,000 robbery at the Marga market in Gen. Trias, Cavite.
Police said three other suspects in the RCBC robbery – Joel de la Cruz, Jesus Narvaez, and Ricardo Gomolon – have been placed under police custody.
Other suspects, including one Allan Bago and a woman, are still being hunted down.
Police said De la Cruz, Bago and Gomolon were among those seen inside the RCBC branch during the robbery.
Police said De la Cruz was the security guard on duty at the bank on May 16, but went on leave without any replacement. Investigators noted several inconsistencies in his statement.
Witnesses, meanwhile, said they saw Narvaez and Letoquet abandon the getaway vehicle, which police later recovered.
Police have at least three key witnesses who are providing Task Force RCBC with information that would help piece together what happened during the bloody heist.
Investigators said a background check showed that Letoquet had a pending robbery case in General Mariano Alvarez, Cavite, while Narvaez was tagged in another robbery in Sto. Tomas, Batangas. Bago was a former security guard.