Sunday, May 25, 2008 5 men in shootout with Ronda cops
FIVE men who hail from Ronda, Cebu engaged in a shootout with policemen in the neighboring town of Dumanjug Friday night.
They are believed to be responsible for some shooting incidents in Ronda in southwest Cebu.
Police received a tip from residents of Barangay Cogon, Dumanjug about a group of armed persons in the area, which was why SPO1 Eddie Belocura and PO3 Ferdinand Imperial were dispatched to check it out.
When police arrived, they noticed the suspicious looking men.
The responding police approached one of them, identified as Ismael Sanopao, 37, of Barangay Vive, Ronda, they saw that he was in possession of a .357 revolver.
Arrested
Belocura and Imperial immediately placed him under arrest.
However, his companion identified as Jekjek Omboy of Barangay Malalay, Ronda, approached the policemen and, at a distance of about two meters, aimed a .45 pistol at Belocura.
But instead of firing, the gun jammed, and all Belocura heard was a click from the gun’s hammer.
This led to a shootout that lasted about five minutes, said Dumanjug Police Chief Ricardo Nayne.
Nayne told Sun.Star Cebu yesterday that Belocura was lucky because if the gun had gone off, he surely would have been hit.
Nayne said the armed men were bent on fighting it out because Belocura used up all six of his bullets.
When the police back-up arrived, the suspects fled.
Police, however, managed to arrest Sanopao.
Nayne said Sanopao refused to cooperate in their investigations.
Sanopao will face a case for illegal possession of firearm.
Nayne said he also has a copy of three arrest warrants against Sanopao and Omboy for crimes of attempted murder and frustrated murder from 2005 to 2007.
Check records
But aside from that, Nayne said they are yet to verify other records if the three men are involved in other crimes, as police received reports that the same men have other cases in Ronda town.
Police believe one of the five men must have been hit during the shootout because one of them was being carried by his companions during the escape.
But after checking neighboring hospitals in Barili and Sibonga, there were no reports of any wounded persons.
Nayne said it was the eve of Barangay Cogon’s fiesta, which was probably why the suspects were in the area.
Aside from Omboy, police identified his companions as Bobong Omboy, Jury Toves and one Unises.
Bobong and Toves were identified as the two men who got into a fight that led to a shooting incident inside the house of Ronda Mayor Esteban Sia last month. No one else was inside the house at the time.
But since a peace covenant between Sia, Vice Mayor Mariano Blanco III and Cebu Provincial Police Office Director Carmelo Valmoria was signed days after that incident, things have been quiet in the town. (MEA)
