Actor Jake Cuenca was arrested for not pulling over after hitting a police vehicle. The incident led into a car chase that resulted in a Grab driver being hit with a stray bullet fired by a police officer who was trying to shoot the tires of the actor’s vehicle.
LAST Saturday night, actor Jake Cuenca suddenly found himself in a midst of trouble when he was arrested by the Mandaluyong City Police after a brief car chase for allegedly hitting a police vehicle with his Wrangler jeep.
It was later gathered that the cops at the time of the incident were conducting a drug buy-bust operation when Cuenca passed by and apparently hit one of the cop’s vehicle and drove off prompting the policemen to chase him.
During the subsequent investigation, the policemen clarified that Cuenca was not in any way tagged as a drug suspect, but was merely collared after running away from the cops after he bumped one of the vehicles.
Police said the SUV did not stop and so they chased it until they reached the area near Shaw Boulevard, Pasig City.
When the driver was confronted, it was only then that the officers knew about Cuenca’s identity.
Making matters worse, as the car chase went on, a stray bullet fired by the police officer in the hopes of slowing down the vehicle, hit a Grab driver in the area.
The Grab driver was identified as Eleazar Martinito, 43, and was taken to the nearest hospital and is now in a stable condition.
Charges of reckless imprudence resulting in damage to property were filed against the 33-year old actor by the Mandaluyong Police.
He was immediately detained but was freed after the mandatory holding period for minor offences.
After a thorough investigation of Cuenca's car, there were no visible illegal substances or materials that were found inside.
The actor was also subjected to a mandatory medical test to determine if he was driving under the influence of alcohol.
Meanwhile, all the police involved in the chase were under restrictive custody as they hit a civilian as the car chase went on.
“I have already instructed the District Director of EPD, Police Brig. Gen. Matthew Bacay, to place all the personnel involved under restrictive custody while the investigation is being conducted,” said Philippine National Police chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar in a statement.
“We assure the public that disciplinary measures will be imposed on the personnel involved and corrective measures will be implemented in order to prevent the repeat of this incident,” he added.
Tags: #Jake Cuenca, #police, #entertainment, #Grab #carchase