Missing sticker gives carjack suspect away

MANILA, Philippines - An alleged carjacker was arrested on May 22 when police officers flagged down the vehicle he was driving because it did not have a Land Transportation Office registration sticker, Quezon City Police District (QCPD) director Chief Superintendent Mario dela Vega said yesterday.

Police officers had been hunting Miguel Jimenez since his men were arrested last year and identified him “as the leader of the carjacking group,” Dela Vega told reporters in a press conference.

Jimenez and Carlito Montalbo were in a green Volkswagen sedan (ULM-607) when they were flagged down by police officers along Matino street because their car did not have a registration sticker.

When the two men could not produce the car’s papers, police officers saw a .9mm Ruger semi-automatic tucked into the waistband of one of the suspects. Neither of the suspects could produce a permit for the gun, prompting the lawmen to arrest them.

Superintendent Ferdinand Villanueva, who heads the QCPD’s anti-car theft unit, said his men then searched the vehicle and found a dismantled 5.56mm Armalite rifle, ammunition and other evidence.