Ayala tunnel road rage suspect nabbed

MANILA, Philippines — After a massive police manhunt, the alleged assailant in a road rage shooting at the EDSA-Ayala tunnel in Makati on Tuesday afternoon was arrested in Pasig yesterday morning.

Businessman Gerrard Raymund Yu was arrested by composite teams from the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) at his residence in Riverside Village at around 7 a.m., Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos announced in a press briefing at Camp Crame yesterday afternoon.

Abalos said Yu’s arrest was the result of an intensive follow-up operation wherein probers searched for the black Mercedes Benz he was driving when he reportedly shot Aniceto Mateo, 65, who was driving a Toyota Innova multi-purpose vehicle along the southbound lane of EDSA in Barangay Urdaneta at around 2:30 p.m.

The victim died from a gunshot wound in his right shoulder, with the bullet ripping through his neck.

“The PNP leadership is now preparing to file a case of murder against the suspect and is committed to bringing justice to the victim and his loved ones,” Abalos said, referring to the Philippine National Police.

Yu, who wore a face mask and covered his head with a jacket, was presented during the briefing but did not give a statement.

Mateo was with a 47-year-old housemaid and a seven-year-old Filipino-Japanese boy at the time of the shooting. They came from Bonifacio Global City and Taguig and were on their way home to Barangay Ayala Alabang in Muntinlupa.

Evidence

At the time of Yu’s arrest, police allegedly found two .40-caliber handguns in Yu’s possession, one of which matched with the bullet casing found at the scene of the shooting based on the result of a ballistics examination. The luxury vehicle was found at his residence.

Abalos said the suspect also tested positive for gunpowder nitrate when he was subjected to a paraffin test.

The manhunt for Yu started at the house of the Mercedes Benz’s original owner, a Japanese, in Barangay Almanza Uno in Las Piñas.

PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil said police investigators could no longer locate the vehicle’s first owner at the given address.

Using closed-circuit television footages, police tracked down the vehicle in Pasig, he said.

Altercation

NCRPO director Maj. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr.  said the shooting occurred shortly after the suspect and the victim had a traffic altercation at EDSA-Kalayaan, citing the testimony of the housemaid.

Makati police chief Col. Edward Cutiyog echoed Nartatez’s statement. They said there was no verbal spat between the two motorists.

Yu’s firearms are registered with the PNP’s Firearms and Explosives Office, but he has no permits to carry the guns, which means he is not authorized to bring the weapons outside his residence.

The suspect, who Nartatez said is a businessman, has no criminal record based on the NCRPO’s background investigation.

Probers are checking if Yu’s guns have been used in other crimes.

In the aftermath of the shooting, Abalos reminded motorists to maintain their cool while driving, especially during heavy traffic.