American suspected in fatal road-rage shooting in Philippines wounded during police arrest
By APSunday, January 17, 2010
Philippine police wound, arrest US murder suspect
MANILA, Philippines — An American man wanted in the Philippines for allegedly killing a government official’s son in a road-rage shooting was critically wounded Monday when he opened fire at police officers trying to arrest him, officials said.
Two police agents also were wounded when authorities swooped down on Jason Ivler’s parents’ house in a Manila suburb, triggering a shootout with the suspect, who was hiding in the basement, said National Bureau of Investigation spokesman Ricardo Diaz.
Ivler was arrested and taken to a hospital in critical condition, police said. He was undergoing surgery.
Ivler, 28, from Hawaii, is accused of fatally shooting the son of an official working in President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s office following an argument during a traffic altercation Nov. 18 in Manila.
Even before that, police were looking for Ivler on a separate homicide charge in connection with a 2004 car crash that killed a senior official in the president’s office.
Following the November incident, authorities offered a reward for Ivler’s capture and began a manhunt, even as his mother claimed he had fled to Hawaii.
The mother, Marlene Aguillar, sister of popular Filipino singer Freddy Aguilar, was taken into custody Monday for obstruction of justice, police said.
