‘Weapon-grabber’ in slammer
A wanted man was arrested in Quezon City on charges of direct assault and illegal possession of firearms after a scuffle with police officers. During the arrest, the suspect attempted to grab an officer’s service weapon, which discharged and injured the suspect.
QCPD Acting Director P/Col. Melecio Buslig Jr. identified the suspect as Mark Ed Lanot, who was initially being arrested at his residence on a theft warrant issued by Branch 39 of the Metropolitan Trial Court (MeTC) in Quezon City.
During the arrest, officers noticed a firearm tucked in Lanot’s waist and instructed him to surrender it. Instead, Lanot grabbed for one of the officer’s service weapons, leading to a scuffle.
In the struggle, the firearm discharged, hitting Lanot in the right foot. He was then subdued and taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Police recovered a .38 caliber firearm with three rounds of live ammunition from Lanot. Records from the Investigation Solution Automatic Verification system show Lanot had a prior case in June 2019 for violating Republic Act 9165, the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
In a separate incident, the Talipapa Police Station (PS 3), under P/Lt. Col. Bryan Angelo Pajarillo, arrested Leonardo Pascual as operatives were conducting an anti-criminality operation along an alley in Ilalim ng Tulay, Barangay Balon Bato.
Authorities saw Pascual examining a revolver in public and when asked to produce documentation for the firearm, Pascual could not provide any and he was arrested.
Police confiscated an Armscor 2015 .38 caliber SPI revolver with two rounds of live ammunition from Pascual.
Both suspects will be charged with violating Republic Act 10591, the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act, and Batas Pambansa 881 (Omnibus Election Code) in relation to Comelec Resolution 10728.
Lanot will also be charged with direct assault.
“The QCPD continues its intensified operations against illegal firearms and all forms of criminality in the city, following the directive of our Acting RD, NCRPO to intensify crime prevention efforts in our jurisdiction and throughout Metro Manila,” Buslig said.
