Saturday, July 05, 2008 Laborer who shot cops jailed By Ernie N. Olson Jr.
A LABORER was arrested with the help of concerned citizens, after he fired a gun at pursuing policemen while running towards Chugum Street in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.
This resulted after teams of policemen responded to a free-for-all rumble between two groups, which erupted at the city's G-shaped pedestrian overpass over an hour after midnight.
The arrested suspect was identified Friday on records of the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) as Richard Baliwon Aliga, 21, single, a laborer from Sadanga, Mountain Province, who resides here in San Luis Village.
According to Police Officer (PO) 1 Armando Laureano, one of the complainants in this case, he and his companions responded to an ongoing rumble between two groups at the G-shaped overpass at around 1:30 a.m. on July 1, when he chased after one of the groups that fled towards Chugum Street.
However, while chasing after Aliga's group, the suspect pulled out a handgun and fired at them but was eventually collared with the help of concerned citizens.
When Aliga was arrested, policemen recovered from his possession a snub-nosed caliber 38 revolver without any serial number, which had the markings of Smith & Wesson, and which was loaded with three live bullets and one spent shell.
He was detained later in the Baguio City Jail on charges for his alleged violation of Republic Act 8294 or for illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.
