5 ‘carjackers’ killed in shootout

URDANETA CITY – Five suspected members of a carjacking group were killed in an encounter with police officers in Barangay Nancalobasaan in this city before dawn yesterday.

Police said Jomar delos Santos, Ronnie Chico, Arnold Bandara and Gilbert Tiomico had identification cards on their persons.

The fifth suspect was described as wearing a white T-shirt and blue denim pants.

The suspects, who were in a stolen Toyota Innova, ignored a police checkpoint along MacArthur Highway, according to city police officer-in-charge Superintendent Marceliano Desamito Jr.

Police officers pursued the suspects, who shot at them, triggering a firefight along the Bulaoen-Casantaan barangay road.

Investigators recovered four .45 caliber pistols, several plastic sachets said to contain shabu and the Toyota Innova at the scene of the shootout.

Reports said the group operates in Ilocos region, Central Luzon, Calabarzon ( Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon), National Capital Region and the Cordilleras.

Police said the carjackers would rent a vehicle, which they would take away after killing its driver.

Three of the group’s victims were identified as Joselito Santiago of Bulacan, Joel Lulu of Pampanga and Joel Obillo of Tarlac City.

The victims’ bodies were found in the towns of Binalonan, Manaoag and Sison, all in Pangasinan.

Handout photo from the Philippine Coast Guard shows officers of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources examining P5 million worth of shark meat seized from a cargo ship in Zamboanga City over the weekend.