Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 19) — Authorities on Tuesday arrested a fugitive former cop after nearly three decades of manhunt, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said.
PNP spokesperson PCol. Jean Fajardo told CNN Philippines in a message that former SPO1 Joel Consuelo Villanueva was arrested in Cainta, Rizal following a warrant issued by Lucena City Regional Trial Court Branch 56.
In a statement, the PNP said Villanueva was dismissed from service in 1995 after being convicted of homicide over the death of a military officer in 1991.
He escaped from Lucena City Jail on July 29, 1995, but he was recaptured the following year. He escaped again while undergoing a medical examination at the hospital, the PNP added.
Fajardo said Villanueva is now under police custody “pending return of the warrant of arrest to issuing court.”
