Thursday, January 22, 2004
Robbery claims life of cab driver
By Oscar C. Pineda
ANOTHER robbery cost the life of a taxi driver, the second this month in Lapu-Lapu City.
Police found the bloodied body of Alfredo Nepangue Sevilleno, 45, on the driver’s seat at 7:50 a.m. yesterday near Duawon beach, a secluded area in Barangay Marigondon.
The robbery could have taken place around 4 a.m., police said.
Another taxi driver was slain by robbers last Jan. 6 .
Lapu-Lapu City Police Chief Louie Oppus said Sevilleno, of Hanuri taxi, bore stab wounds mostly in the neck and base of the neck.
Police recovered a bloodstained 12-inch knife, two head caps (red and green), P384 cash and coins hidden near the steering wheel.
Since police failed to find the victim’s wallet and cell phone, homicide investigator Rolito Jumao-as believed that robbery was the motive behind the attack.
Pursuit
Oppus said his men are now checking the whereabouts of an ex-convict recently released after serving his sentence. The ex-convict, whose identity is being withheld pending investigation, lives near the place.
The police chief said two to three robbers were involved.
“There were signs of struggle on the front and back seats,” he said in Cebuano.
Since there was still no witness to tell them what happened, Oppus said they will rely on the findings of the Scene of the Crime Operation (Soco) agents for forensic evidence.
Aside from noting that the cab was headed towards the interior portion of the barangay, Oppus said the taximeter registered P665.
Sevilleno was married and lived in Limkaking Subdivision in Barangay Tisa in Cebu city.
Taxi robbers apparently have been easy prey by robbers in Lapu-Lapu City.
Last Jan. 6, Lapu-Lapu City police found the body of Andrew Sosobredo Carreon, 31, inside the taxi he was driving along Quezon National Highway in Sitio Saac, Barangay Buaya.
Gunshot
Carreon suffered a gunshot wound in the left eye. His wallet was missing, but police recovered P450 bills and a cell phone secretly hidden inside his taxi.
On Sept. 12, 2002, taxi driver Charlie Hinaniban, 30, was robbed and stabbed dead along the highway, a few kilometers away from where Carreon was slain.
In that same spot in Barangay Ibo, taxi driver Lino Bracero Canoneo was robbed, killed and dumped in 2001.
Similar incidents
On June 6, 2002, police found the body of taxi driver Felix Dequio Cinco in Sitio Dapdap, Barangay Mactan.
Still in Barangay Ibo last May 1, 2002, Niño, Ruben and Michael Auxtero allegedly robbed and stabbed taxi driver Ernesto Capablanca, 25.
But Capablanca was able to shout for help.
Capablanca died later in the hospital, leaving behind his wife and a four-month old son in Barangay Mainit, Naga.
Michael was captured in Barangay Zamora in Talibon, Bohol on Jan. 22.
(January 22, 2004 issue)
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