Young robber arrested after more than a year in hiding

A 17-year-old boy facing charges of robbery with physical injuries was finally arrested Saturday in Navotas after more than a year of trying to evade the law.

The suspect, a resident of Pamasawata 3, C-3 Road, Dagat-Dagatan, Caloocan City was charged for robbing and hacking Florencia Illustrisimo on Feb. 5, 2005 in Malabon City.

Illustrisimo, a resident of Barangay Longos, Malabon City, was walking home when held up by three armed suspects. She shouted for help prompting one of the robbers to hack her with a sword in the forehead. The victim was seriously wounded but survived.

The Northern Police District-District Police Intelligence Unit (NPD-DPIU), headed by Superintendent Reynaldo Orante, ordered the suspects hunted after witnesses identified them.

The DPIU agents composed of SPO4 Antonio Tenorio and Pancho Labrador and SPO2 Henry Martin arrested one of the suspects, identified only as "Tony," a minor, at the Navotas Fish Port Complex at around 9:30 a.m.

Interviewed in his cell, the boy readily admitted hacking Illustrisimo, but said he was only startled when the victim started to shout for help.

"I did not mean to hurt her, I panicked when she started shouting," the boy said in Tagalog.

He identified his two other companions only as "Jonathan" and "Jason."

Tenorio said the DPIU would turn over the suspect to the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) rehabilitation center for minor offenders.