Wednesday, January 14, 2009 Arrested suspect admits he drove motorcycle bearing gunman, alleges 'drug dealer' was mastermind
ONE of the attackers of the late PO2 Jose Clint Cañete, the anti-illegal drugs policeman shot dead on the Mandaue-Mactan bridge last year, was arrested in a buy-bust Friday night.
Arnel Tejero Montero, 37, of Compostela town, admitted he drove the motorcycle the gunman used and followed Cañete on his way home from a court hearing.
Montero also named the gunman and the mastermind of the killing.
Montero received P5,000 cash for driving the motorcycle and helping Ronel “Tata” Wagas shoot Cañete in October last year.
He alleged that Wagas worked for Paquito “Quipot” Oyao, who was arrested for a drug-related case.
logbook
To strengthen this claim, police checked the logbook of the Lapu-Lapu City Jail and found that Wagas paid Oyao a visit two days before Cañete was shot.
Cañete was one of the operatives responsible for Oyao’s arrest.
Supt. Vicente Mersan Premne, deputy city director for administration of the Mandaue City Police Office, said they are now building up a case against Wagas and Oyao so they can be charged with Cañete’s murder.
Cañete’s widow, Charito, also made an appearance and thanked the police for working on her husband’s case.
“Happy kaayo to siya nga nasulbad na ang iyang kaso,” Charito told reporters. She added that she was satisfied with the results, even if it took a few months, saying she knows they worked hard to solve it.
Supt. Marvin Sanchez, executive officer of the Regional Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force where Cañete was assigned, said they examined Cañete’s cases right after the incident.
Wagas group
Based on documents they retrieved, they were able to identify Wagas’ group as the one behind it.
Though Wagas got away, police still collared Montero at a mall in Mandaue City after he yielded a medium pack of shabu and a .45 pistol loaded with seven bullets.
Also arrested was Joseph Salem Barbero, 27, of Barangay Lusaran, Cebu City.
A “credible informant” told police that Montero was a gun-for-hire and involved in the shooting of Cañete. They learned this last month.
The MCPO and Raidsotf conducted a joint operation and began monitoring Montero’s activities. When they learned he was also engaged in illegal drugs, they set up a buy-bust, leading to his arrest Friday.
Barbero denied involvement in Cañete’s case but said he was involved in another shooting of a woman inside a market in Consolacion town.
Montero said that last Oct. 16, Wagas approached him and asked him to go with him to Lapu-Lapu City for a job.
Montero told reporters he knew Wagas was engaged in illegal drugs and thought they were going to make a transaction. Since he was told he would be paid, he agreed.
On the day they agreed on, he proceeded to the Palace of Justice in Lapu-Lapu City where a man, later identified as Oyao’s brother Washington, met them and spoke with Wagas.
Waiting
Minutes later, Wagas returned to where Montero was parked and told him they were waiting for someone to come out of the building so they could follow him.
He said it took them a while and that he got hungry waiting. When the “target” wearing a black jacket came out of the building, Wagas signaled to him to start the engine.
At the first Mandaue-Mactan bridge, the “target got stuck behind a truck.” As they neared him, he claimed Wagas then fired four times. Cañete dropped to the ground as he drove the motorcycle towards Labogon, Mandaue City and then straight to Compostela.
He said he only knew that it was a policeman they killed when he read the papers the next day.
Montero claimed Wagas was paid P20,000 to complete the job.
“Dako kaayo akong pagmahay. Pero og patyon ko nila, aw patyon ko nila. Kahibawo nako daan nga kuyaw na sila (I deeply regret my involvement. If they kill me as a result, then so be it. I know what kind of people they are),” Montero told reporters.
Fell bad
He added he felt so bad about what happened that he admitted to his father that he was involved in Cañete’s death.
Premne said they are waiting for a report from the Regional Crime Laboratory regarding a ballistics examination conducted on Montero’s confiscated firearm.
He said that aside from Cañete’s case, it was possible the same firearm could have been also used in other cases.
Premne said they were still building up intelligence reports against Wagas to find out if he was also involved in other murders, as they have received reports of this. (MEA)
