BACOLOD City – Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran commended Police Officer 2 Eric Pableo for neutralizing one of the top robbery suspects in the city.
The 32-year-old Johnnie “JR” Villarete of Purok Sawmill, Barangay Bata died of several gunshot wounds on the body when he and two others attempted to hold up Pableo on corner C.L. Montelibano-Baloyo streets in Barangay Villamonte around 12:30 a.m. on Monday, a Police Station 4 report showed.
Villarete is the suspected leader of the Villarete criminal gang, according to the police.
Familiaran said Villarete’s death was another accomplishment for the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO).
He added that if it was a civilian instead of Pableo, Villarete and his two accomplices would have succeeded in perpetrating the crime.
Pableo is a resident of Talisay City, Negros Occidental who is assigned at the Maritime Station in Barangay Banago, Bacolod City.
On May 24, the BCPO neutralized one of Bacolod’s top drug suspects – Ramy Poja – in a shooting incident in Sitio Sebucao, Barangay Banago.
Familiaran said neutralization of top criminals results to lower crime volume in the city.
Despite this, police officers must still be on alert and man strategic areas in Bacolod to ensure the safety of the public, the vice mayor added./PN
