Police wait for warrant before arresting Mandaluyong hit-and-run suspect

Authorities are now waiting for the court to issue a warrant before making any move against the suspect in the hit-and-run incident involving a security guard in Mandaluyong City.

Mandaluyong City Police chief Police Colonel Gauvin Mel Unos said Thursday they cannot arrest the suspect without a warrant because a complaint has already been filed.

“Nawala na po kasi ang bisa ng warrantless arrest pagka-file ng kaso (The warrantless arrest is no longer applicable since a complaint  has already been filed),” he said in a message to GMA News Online.

“As a matter of procedure, kahit sa anong kaso, once the case is filed in the prosecutor's office or the court, ang magagawa ng kapulisan ay antayin ang paglabas ng warrant to be issued by court para maging basehan na mahuli ang suspect,” Unos added.

(As a matter of procedure, in any case, once the case is filed in the prosecutor's office or the court, what the police can do is wait for the issuance of warrant as a basis for arresting the suspect.)

A complaint for frustrated murder and abandonment of one's own victim has been filed against the registered owner of the SUV that hit security guard Christian Joseph Floralde.

Unos said the suspect has not faced nor communicated with the authorities yet.

The police tried to go to the residence of the SUV owner but the security personnel of the subdivision prevented them from doing so. A complaint for obstruction of justice has been filed against the security personnel.

LTO has set the final hearing on the hit-and-run incident on Friday, June 10. A hearing was initially set on Tuesday but the suspect did not attend it.

The hit-and-run incident happened on Sunday while the victim was directing traffic at the corner of Julia Vargas Avenue and St. Francis street in Mandaluyong City.

Floralde is currently in the intensive care unit of a hospital for medical treatment.—AOL, GMA News