ILOILO City – A notorious robbery suspect fought back when policemen tried to serve him an arrest warrant in Barangay Bagongbong, Lambunao, Iloilo on Jan. 13.
Cops shot Louie Vicente who died in the process, according to Lambunao police commander, Chief Inspector Rene Obregon.
The shooting happened around 1:20 a.m. at the suspect’s hut.
Obregon said they were supposed to serve another arrest warrant – for theft – on Vicente’s cousin Joan Lego and wife Mylene who were living in an adjacent hut but bursts of gunfire alerted them.
The Lego couple managed to flee, said Obregon.
According to the Lambunao police chief, Vicente fired at policemen using a 12-gauge shotgun and tried to lob a grenade at them.
“Our men shot him before he could throw the grenade. The Lego couple, on the other hand, ran away,” said Obregon.
Cops recovered Vicente’s 12-gauge shotgun and grenade.
Obregon said the three suspects were tagged in a 2018 robbery case in Barangay Rizal, Cabatuan, Iloilo. An overseas worker from South Korea lost electronic gadgets and money reaching a million pesos.
“They threatened to harm barangay residents who would report them to the police,” said Obregon.
He appealed to the Lego couple to surrender peacefully.
As of this writing a hot pursuit operation was ongoing./PN
