Thursday, June 19, 2008
Talisay cops set free man tagged in shooting of Citom enforcer
FOR lack of witnesses, police yesterday released the suspect in last Monday’s shooting and wounding of a female traffic enforcer in Barangay Tanke, Talisay City.
PO2 Harrison Quiñanola, Talisay City police homicide investigator, said the victim herself was also doubtful if Jessie Villaceran, the alleged gunman, was the one who shot her.
Quiñanola interviewed the victim, Rosie Caburnay, a City Traffic Operations and Management (Citom) member, while she was recuperating in her hospital bed in Cebu City.
Caburnay was off from work and walking home when shot by a gunman around 10 p.m. She sustained two bullet wounds in the right side of her body.
Death threats
Prior to the shooting, Caburnay reportedly received threats in the past, but refused to elaborate what they were about.
Also, Quiñanola said they had to release Villaceran because the 36-hour reglamentary period for detention of a homicide suspect would expire at 2 p.m. yesterday.
“We could be charged with arbitrary detention if we would still detain him,” he added.
Villaceran, a neighbor of Caburnay in Sitio San Rafael, Barangay Tanke, was picked up by lawmen after the shooting incident.
Argument
Preliminary investigation showed that Villaceran reportedly engaged in a verbal tussle with Caburnay’s younger sister because of a land dispute in Sitio San Rafael two weeks ago.
Quiñanola said, though, that the victim can still file a criminal case against Villaceran if he is found positive of gunpowder residue.
“In fact, we have already readied the complaint for her signature,” he said.
Villaceran was subjected to a paraffin test at the PNP Crime Laboratory in Cebu City hours after the shooting.
The test results were not available yet at press time yesterday. (GC)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (June 19, 2008 issue)
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