Thursday, December 20, 2007 Murder complaint filed v. Aves By Jovy S. Taghoy Sun.Star Staff Reporter
MORE than two years after his death, a murder complaint was finally filed against suspects linked to the ambush of businessman and former Kiwanis Club of Cebu president Wilson Yu.
Named in the three-page complaint for killing Yu last Oct. 5, 2005 were alleged fraternity hitman Aristotle Aves, Raul Almendras and four unidentified persons.
One of the four unidentified persons was reportedly the driver of the getaway motorcycle, while the three others are involved in planning the crime.
Aves, 26, is now at the Cebu City Jail after his arrest last Dec. 3 in Pier 8, Mandaue City. Almendras, who is facing separate estafa charges in the Regional Trial Court in Mandaue City, is still at large.
The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) 7 filed the complaint before the Mandaue City Prosecutors’ Office yesterday afternoon.
CIDG 7 is head of Task Force Wilson Yu, created by the Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 to solve the killing.
Yu, owner of WAM Manufacturing and Development Inc., was President Arroyo’s political supporter and campaigner in Cebu. Arroyo had earlier ordered police to closely look into the killing.
Yu was 45 years old when he died from multiple gunshot wounds.
Witnesses
According to the complaint, the six men staged the ambush on Yu while he was driving his Mercedes Benz to his factory in Sitio Pilit, Barangay Caban-calan, Mandaue City.
The incident occurred at 8 a.m. on Oct. 5, 2005 on Kawasaki St., near a sari-sari store just several meters away from Yu’s factory.
Three witnesses, including two customers of the sari-sari store, executed separate affidavits last Nov. 10, 2005 detailing how the crime was carried out. In their affidavits, they identified Almendras, through photographs, as one of the men who staged the ambush.
Last Monday, the two witnesses executed supplemental sworn statements identifying Aves as the gunman.
Ambush
According to the affidavit of one of the witnesses, shortly before the shooting, Almendras bought a bottle of softdrink from a store near Yu’s factory. He was sporting a blue ball cap and a striped polo shirt and denim pants. Witness said he stayed near the store, facing the road, as if waiting for somebody.
A few minutes later, Almendras then ordered one bottle of beer.
The witness was waiting for Almendras to return the two bottles. Two other customers—one who bought shampoo and another, ice water—arrived at the store.
The two customers also witnessed the killing.
Moments later, a sound from bottle breaking was heard, followed by successive bursts of gunfire.
One witness said in his affidavit that he heard four gunshots while another witness said there were five.
A witness said that Almendras hit Yu’s car with a bottle, prompting the victim to stop.
Too late
Aves, who was standing at the left side of the car, then allegedly shot Yu several times. The slugs hit Yu’s lower left abdomen, left chest and left arm.
Almendras and Aves then ran to a waiting red motorcycle driven by another accomplice and sped away.
Santiago Olivar, Yu’s errand boy and a collector of WAM Factory who was with the victim during the incident, took over the wheel and rushed Yu to Perpetual Succour Hospital.
Yu, however, died of multiple gunshot wounds several hours later.
The responding Mandaue City policemen recovered five empty shells and two slugs from a caliber .45 at the crime scene. These were submitted to the regional crime laboratory for examination.
The laboratory then conducted ballistic and cross-matching examinations on the evidence found at the crime scene. The lab found that the slugs matched with the .45 pistol confiscated from Aves when he was arrested inside an Ormoc City-bound vessel last Dec. 3. Police said this meant the bullets were fired from Aves’ gun.
