Police have identified one of the three suspects in the theft of a spare tire that led to a shooting incident at a parking area exit of a shopping mall in Alabang, Muntinlupa City, Thursday afternoon.
Police said the suspects were seen on the closed-circuit television (CCTV) of the mall stealing a spare tire from a vehicle parked on the second floor parking area and putting it in their vehicle.
The security guards decided to use their service motorcycle as a barricade at the parking exit to prevent the suspects from escaping. But when their getaway vehicle was flagged down, the suspects ignored the guards and ran over the motorcycle, prompting the guards to shoot at the vehicle’s tire.
However, the suspects managed to escape.
Mobile Patrol 118 of the Alabang Police Sub-Station chased the getaway vehicle, which was later found abandoned in front of the Anuva Residences condominium in Brgy. Cupang, Muntinlupa City, and is now under police custody.
Five car tires were recovered by the Alabang police and six fired cartridge cases of a 9mm caliber were found by the Muntinlupa Scene of Crime (SOCO) team inside the suspects’ vehicle.
The police identified the victim of the spare tire theft at the mall as Bahnarie Abad, 32, of Brgy. San Miguel, Taguig. The suspects stole a spare tire from his vehicle, a Toyota Fortuner.
The getaway vehicle is a Montero Sport with plate number NAY-3288, rented from owner Mahmoud Barbeche of Brgy. Pembo, Makati.
Barbeche told the police that he is in a car rental business and last May 4, the vehicle was rented by Marivic delos Santos, an online seller residing in Tondo, Manila.
Investigators presented the CCTV footage of the incident to Barbeche and he recognized one of the suspects as the husband of Delos Santos, who was later identified as Richard Fontanilla, 48, the Muntinlupa police said.