Cops nab 'hostage taker'
BY GILBERT BAYORAN

A teenaged suspect who held an 8-year-old-child hostage after he had robbed and stabbed a woman in Brgy. Hilamonan, Kabankalan City, was arrested by the police on Saturday in Mabinay, Oriental Negros.

SPO1 Abraham Togalon, Kabankalan PNP Desk Officer, yesterday identified the suspect who was arrested by a combined team of Kabankalan and Mabinay policemen as Randy Elesterio, 19, a resident of Brgy. Tampalon, Kabankalan City.

Togalon said the arrest of Elesterio also yielded a homemade .357 magnum revolver and a bladed weapon.

Police investigations show that Elesterio held hostage Judita Baydal, 8, a pupil of Lorenzo Zayco Elementary, in Sitio Lupni, Brgy. Hilamonan, Kabankalan City, for three hours on Friday.

The hostage-taking incident took place after Elesterio was mobbed by irate barangay residents when he allegedly robbed and stabbed Nena de la Flor at the public market of Sitio Linagasan in the barangay.

De la Flor is now being treated for stab wounds in her neck at the Kabankalan District Hospital.

Police investigations show that Elesterio, armed with a bladed weapon, took the minor as hostage, while demanding for a motorcycle with a driver from the Kabankalan police led by Insp. Louie Figueroa who had responded to the incident.

Figueroa tasked PO2 Rafael Gimoto II to pose as driver of the motorcycle to be used as a getaway vehicle of the suspect.

Gimoto, who was being followed by the Kabankalan police, made the motorcycle skid on the highway of Sitio Samac in Mabinay and successfully rescued the minor unharmed at about 7 p.m. Friday.*GPB

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Teener tagged in
holdup surrenders
BY DONALYN GUERRERO

A teenager identified as one of the five suspected of the hold-up of two employees of the Pavilion Hotel and Restaurant at the Bacolod reclamation area on Friday, surrendered to the Bacolod police Saturday.

The 17-year-old whose name is being withheld by the DAILY STAR, yesterday said his father encouraged him to surrender to the Bacolod police. His three other companions were apprehended Friday.

He admitted having grabbed the bag of one of the complainants, but denied poking a bladed weapon at her saying he was not armed at the time. He said he threw the bag at the cogonal area when the police chased them.

Held up were Mar Ortega, 34, of Talisay City, and Milagros Esparagosa, 38, of Silay City. Earlier, three boys, aged 16 to 17 were apprehended by the police and were also identified by the complainants as among those who held them up.

A Bacolod police manhunt is still on for the arrest of the remaining companion of the group.

Ortega's bag contained P9,000 and important documents, while Esparagosa's bag contained P1,500 and a Nokia 8210 cellphone, police reports said.*DMG

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2 arrested for theft

Two Bacolod residents were arrested Saturday as suspects in the theft of several items from a house in Purok Casiana, Eroreco Subdivision, Brgy. Mandalagan, Bacolod City, Thursday.

Raymundo Padernal Belleza, alias "Mundo", 20, of Purok Casiana, and Gayle Alonzo Togores, alias "Omay", 18, of Purok Sulom I in Brgy. Bata were apprehended at their residences for allegedly taking the car spare parts and accessories of their neighbor Jessica Jopillo Vicera, police reports said.

The two were collared by Precinct 3 policemen led Senior Insp. Renato Ofamen and case investigator SPO1 Jessie Baylon with the help of Purok president Jenny Genon, police reports also said.

Genon told the police she had seen Belleza and Togores pass by her residence carrying assorted equipment on Thursday, but did not mind them. However, she later found out that those items were taken from Vicera.

The Precinct 3 policemen recovered the assorted car spare parts worth P4,000 and car accessories worth P10,000 from the junk shop of Jesus Descatado of Villa Fe Subdivision in Brgy. Villamonte at about 11 a.m. Saturday.

Also recovered were a hydraulic jack and an 11-plate car battery worth P5,000 from the residence of Linda Sibugal Friday, while several parts of air conditioner units were also taken from the house of Aurora Hulgado in Brgy. Mandalagan Thursday, police reports said.

The items were believed sold by the suspects to Descatado, Sibugal and Hulgado and were positively identified as hers by Vicera.

Belleza and Togores are now detained at Precinct 3 and theft charges are being readied against them, police reports said.*DMG

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