BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – Criminal charges are being readied against the 39-year-old seaman who held his own mother hostage in Barangay 4, Victorias City, Negros Occidental.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Eduardo Corpuz, Victorias City police chief, said Andrew Grecia will be slapped with alarm and scandal, illegal possession of firearms and illegal drugs.
The investigation of the Victorias City Police Station showed that Grecia, a seaman who held the rank of Chief Mate, fired his gun inside their residence and took hostage his 73-year-old mother, while under the influence of illegal drugs.
However, the mother later managed to escape, prompting operatives of the Special Weapons and Tactics to stage an assault inside in the house and subdue the suspect.
Corpuz said they have yet to establish the motive behind the incident but they received reports that the suspect had been ignored by his ex-girlfriend.
The seaman was repatriated on Aug. 26 and was placed on quarantine for two weeks. He was supposed to stay in the country for just three weeks.
During the period, Grecia had a hard time managing his temper and seemed to be hallucinating while under police interrogation at the Victorias police station.
Authorities recovered a spent shell of a .308 gun and 22 live bullets, a Remington sniper rifle loaded with two live bullets, live bullets of a .22-caliber gun, a live bullet of 5.56-caliber pistol, and a sachet of suspected shabu./PN
