Two detainees at the Ubay police station lock-up jail had barely gone far enough in an attempt to regain freedom and getting off the hook for good. But the Ubay police team outsmarted them.
Ubay chief of police, Chief Inspector Petronilo Gracia Jr., identified the two detainees as Alberto Pino, and Jonar Cutamora, both facing charges of violation of section 5 (sale of illegal drugs) of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
Pino is a 28-year-old resident of Barangay Fatima, Ubay and Cutamora, a 25-year-old resident of Barangay Soom, Trinidad.
Upon discovering their disappearance in their cell, Gracia immediately sent teams to conduct a manhunt operation against the two escapees.
They cornered Cutamora first in Barangay Bood, about three kilometers from the police station, at around 8 am yesterday or 11 hours from his escape.
At around 10 o’clock last night, the Ubay police team also recaptured Pino.
According to Gracia, they contacted at least four “lifelines†of Cutamora that night and zeroed in on his girlfriend who eventually cooperated.
Cutamora last sent a text message to his girlfriend at around 7 a.m. yesterday, informing her that he was in Bood.
From then they tracked down Cutamora until they spotted him at purok 5 in Bood.
Gracia also said Cutamora told them that he and Pino just fled on foot and claimed that no one aided their escape but just the two of them.
The Ubay police team cornered Pino while trying to seek refuge in their house in Barangay Fatima.
Gracia said they got tips from concerned citizens that Pino was just in their neighborhood.
Indeed, the police team spotted Pino hanging around near a neighbor’s house.
Upon noticing the presence of cops, Pino ran from one house to another, trying to sneak in, while the cops chased him.
After a few minutes, the cops cornered him near his house, although it was never easy catching him because it was already dark.
Both Cutamora and Pino were submitted for medical exam before they were returned to the lock-up jail.
Gracia said the two cut the prison bars at the back portion of their cell using a steel saw which the investigators believed were provided by one of the four persons who visited them a few days earlier.
With their light build, they easily slipped out of the prison window after lifting the bars.
Pino had already showed determination to evade authorities even during his first arrest on January 16 where he attempted to flee with handcuffs.
Cutamora was first arrested on a separate operation also in January, but investigators discovered that he had been in cahoots with Pino in the illegal drugs trade.