A cop who had gone AWOL (absent without official leave) was arrested with his three other cohorts for driving a stolen rented vehicle in Quezon City on Sunday.
Nabbed were Patrolman John Rey Bautista, 37; Albert Hipolito, 46; Christopher Orosco, 39; and Roderick Sarang, 43.
Police said Bautista was assigned to the Southern Police District (SPD) prior to his transfer to National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) Regional Personnel Holding and Accounting Unit (RPHAU) in Camp Bagong Diwa in June 2015.
A report from Quezon City Police District’s Masambong Police Station (PS-2) showed that complainant Tommy Ruperto, 54, a retired U.S. Army, reported to police a carnapping incident involving two of his vehicles in his car-renting business.
According to Ruperto, a certain Joanna Mae Turingan went to his shop in Barangay Puti
ng Kahoy, Silang, Cavite, around 9 p.m. last September 12.
The complainant said Turingan rented two vehicles — a red Mitsubishi Montero with conduction sticker number B3 NO11 and a metallic blue Mitsubishi Mirage with plate number DAM 7096 — in the amount of P22,000.
During transaction, Turingan agreed to return the vehicles on September 15, Sunday.
However, Turingan failed to appear and return the rented cars on the said date.
Ruperto also noticed that the tracking device of the vehicles were turned off.
The complainant immediately reported the incident to PS-2 personnel after he located his Montero somewhere in Visayas Avenue, Quezon City, through its back-up global positioning system (GPS).
Around 8 p.m. on Sunday, the vehicle was located at the corner of Tomas Morato Street and Scout Gandia.
Operatives approached the vehicle where they found inside Bautista, Hipolito and Orosco.
Meanwhile, Sarang was also arrested in the area while on board a Toyota Avanza with plate number NBA 6616 which was also believed to be stolen after he failed to show its pertinent documents.
Probers said the group were involved in similar modus or the so-called “rent-tangay” scheme.
Aside from the recovered vehicles, authorities also seized from Bautista his service firearm while Orosco yielded a Pietro Berreta and a firearm license card under a certain Manuel Orozco Figueroa.
The arrested suspects were brought to PS-2 for further investigation. Carnapping charges will be filed against the four men, according to police. Orosco will also be charged with illegal possession of firearms
Follow-up investigation is ongoing to locate and arrest Turingan and to recover the other vehicle. (Alexandria San Juan)
