Bilibid escapee caught after wild SLEX chase

A convicted criminal who attended a hearing in a Marikina City court last Monday managed to escape from his escort guards in Muntinlupa City but was eventually cornered and sent back to the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) following a one-hour chase and gun battle.

Recuperating at the NBP hospital from a gunshot wound in his abdomen is Ativan Gang leader Rodrigo Fabricante, 51, who is serving his 20 to 31 years imprisonment for theft and still facing a string of cases in different courts.

According to reports, the convict and his guards were on their way from Marikina back to the NBP, when the prison van experienced engine trouble at about 3 p.m. along the South Luzon Expressway in front of Sharp Phils. in Barangay Sucat.

While the guards were busy fixing the vehicle, Fabricante grabbed guard Hilario Panagutan’s caliber .38 pistol and opened fire on guard Leopito Veloso, who attempted to block his way.

Veloso returned fire, hitting Fabricante, but the convicts still managed to run. He flagged down and commandeered an Isuzu Elf closed van, which skidded toward the center isle of the highway.

Fabricante, with blood oozing from his abdomen, alighted from the damaged vehicle and flagged down a delivery van. He directed the driver, Joselito Rosero, to speed off toward south.

City hall police detachment personnel under SPO4 Efren Villanueva were already tracking the movement of Fabricante, who abandoned the van and climbed over the SLEX fence near the boundary of GSIS and Sampaguita Villages in San Pedro, Laguna.

Villanueva and his men had blocked all possible exits, but Fabricante still refused to surrender. He flagged down a motorcycle driven by a certain Allan Escador who at gunpoint drove it toward the main gate of GSIS Village.

Fabricante, already exhausted and his hands still handcuffed, finally surrendered to Traffic Enforcement Division and Public Order and Safety Office officers. He was sent back to NBP and was charged with frustrated homicide, grave threats and car theft.

This one got away

In Manila, a city jail inmate escaped from his escort the other day while on the way to attend a hearing at the Manila Prosecutor’s Office, police said yesterday.

Glenn Guarnes, charged with estafa and illegal recruitment, gave Jail Officer 1 Noel Jamito the slip at around 4:40 p.m. last Monday.

Earlier, Jamito reported to MCJ duty officer Maria Paz Achapero that Guarnes was set to attend a hearing of the case at the sala of Assistant City Prosecutor Cesar Glorioso at around 4:30 p.m.

Although the inmate was not included in the court calendar list, Achapero allowed Jamito and Guarnes to leave the MCJ premises when the jail officer showed her a copy of the subpoena from the prosecutor.

Jamito said the summon was personally handed to him by Guarnes’ lawyer, whose name was not disclosed.

Some 10 minutes later, Jamito returned to Achapero and reported that Guarnes escaped. The jail officer, however, refused to divulge the circumstances surrounding the incident.

According to Senior Inspector Noel Montalbo of the MCJ-National Capital Region, Jamito has been placed under investigation.

Montalbo said they would also coordinate with Glorioso to determine whether he indeed summoned the inmate last Monday, almost after office hours.

If Jamito fails to come up with a proper explanation, he faces possible suspension or dismissal for negligence while in custody of a prisoner. – With Cecille Suerte Felipe