Saturday, May 24, 2008 7 patrol cars chase suspects
A SHOOTING alarm in Barangay Day-as, Cebu City involving several men who fled on board a van led the police to chase the suspects and corner them in Sitio Oprra in Barangay Kalunasan.
The chase took seven police patrol cars.
The eight men arrested were suspected of killing a plumber in Barangay Day-as, Cebu City yesterday dawn.
However, only one of them remains in police custody for illegal possession of a firearm.
Marty Conejos, 40, was found at the basketball court with a single gunshot wound on the left side of his neck at around 4:45 a.m. in Sikatuna St. The eight men were reportedly out on a drinking spree.
Conejos had just come from a neighbor’s house in Sikatuna St. where he was cleaning the septic tank when he was shot. Witnesses claimed the gunmen fled aboard a silver Toyota Innova van.
At past 5 a.m., a group of eight men, including a barangay councilor, were arrested at the sports complex in Sitio Oprra in Barangay Kalunasan. They were aboard a silver Toyota Innova van (YEU 603).
They were identified as Enrique Solis, 39, driver of the van, Celmar Celada, 25, Cantolaroy, Argao barangay councilor, Jaynard Manzanades, 24, Elvis Manzanades, 31, Ernesto Sardinillo, 44, Ephraim Sarona, Roland Sardonillo, 22 and Felix Fernandez, 28.
At past 3 p.m. yesterday, however, police released seven of them but kept Solis, as he was the driver of the vehicle. A .357 revolver with five bullets and a spent shell inside its chamber was recovered inside the van.
He will face a charge for illegal possession of a firearm.
None of the eight admitted ownership of the gun and they all denied any involvement in Conejos’s death.
Instead, they pointed to two other companions, Godofredo and Faustino Manzanades as the ones who probably shot Conejos.
Celada told reporters that the group began drinking at about 10 p.m. Thursday on Pacubas St. in Barangay Mambaling. They are all relatives and had just come from a basketball game when they decided to go drinking.
Solis, who works for Toyco rent-a-car, said he had driven the van owned by the company earlier in the day. The client had paid for a 24-hour use, but went home early.
Because the van was not expected to be returned until 9 a.m. yesterday, Solis said he decided to use it for their outing.
After 4 a.m., they ran out of drinks and decided to buy some more. They also picked up Ernesto and forced him to join them.
But because they did not have enough glasses, they decided to drop by the house of the Manzanades’ aunt in Sikatuna St. so they can borrow glasses there.
The group alleged that Faustino and Godofredo got off and went to their aunt’s house.
“They returned right away and said that no one opened the door for them. So we left, as if nothing happened,” Celada told reporters in Bisaya.
When they reached Oprra, Celada said they noticed police patrol cars arriving but thought nothing of it.
Suddenly, they were surrounded by heavily armed police officers ordering them to drop to the ground.
While the eight complied, Faustino and Godofredo fled.
All eight were made to undergo a paraffin test yesterday.
Jaynard, younger brother of Faustino and Godofredo, said he was surprised about what happened and claimed he did not know what his brothers were up to.
He said he was just as surprised as the seven who were also arrested.
Celada and Ernesto also complained about how they were treated, saying police used the butts of their rifles to subdue them even if they already had their hands in the air.
But operatives of the Mobile Patrol Group said they had to subdue them because they all fled in different directions.
“Ilaha pud nang alegasyon,” said PO1 Clifford Mantua.
Cebu City Police Office Director Patrocinio Comendador said they had to use “necessary force to subdue the suspects.”
He said that when they were responding to the alarm, they had no idea how many persons were armed inside the van.
“I also do not want to lose the lives of any of my men,” he said.
In Talisay City, a scavenger also died yesterday morning after he was shot several times at the old dumpsite in Barangay Biasong.
Homicide Section investigators identified the victim as Jonathan Casiao, 26, a resident of Barangay Biasong.
They have yet to determine whether the broad daylight murder was borne out of a long-standing personal grudge. The police learned that the victim was known for allegedly taking the belongings of residents nearby.
SPO2 Jose Noel Pactores, the desk officer on duty, said the investigation showed that Casiao was scavenging at the dumpsite when three unidentified men approached him at around 9:10 a.m.
After a brief talk, one of them reportedly pulled out a handgun and shot the victim several times in the different parts of his body, causing his death.
Responding policemen recovered two empty shells of .45 pistol from the crime scene. (MEA/GC)
