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Friday, March 11, 2005
Couple suspected of drug pushing shot dead
By Jovy S. Taghoy
CEBU CITY -- The killings continue in Cebu City, with a couple suspected to be "big-time drug pushers" in Barangay Tejero as the latest victims.
Police found the bodies of Jimmy Mendiola, 48, and wife Aida lying next to each other at 12:30 a.m. Thursday on Mercado St. near the old Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center.
The victims both had gunshot wounds at the back of their heads. Jimmy also bore gunshot wounds in his back and left arm. Aida had another gunshot wound in her chest.
The deaths of the Mendiola couple brought to 32 the number of people killed by still unidentified attackers since last Dec. 22. Their bodies were autopsied.
It was the first time the killing involved a woman.
Supt. Pablo Labra II, chief of the Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Bureau (CIIB), Homicide Section Chief Mario Monilar and Tejero resident SPO1 Adonis Dumpit said the victims were known drug pushers in the area.
Labra said Jimmy was included in the watch list of the CIIB and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
Motive
Monilar said Homicide police investigators are also looking into a drug-related case as a possible motive.
A check at the Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center showed that Jimmy was jailed on March 22, 1993 for a drug case.
He was released on Nov. 6 that year and was transferred to the Drug Rehabilitation and After Care Center, now the Cebu Center for Ultimate Rehabilitation of Drug Dependents.
Aida had not been to jail.
Homicide investigators led by SPO1 Zenaido Pastorfide and personnel from the Scene of the Crime Operations recovered five empty shells and two slugs of still unknown caliber at the crime scene.
3rd in Tejero
No one came forward as witness, except for a security guard who rushed to the area after hearing gunshots. He said he failed to see the face of the gunman, who wore a helmet.
Lady Dawn Mendiola, the victims' daughter, told investigators that her parents left their house on Alviola St. to visit a sick grandson at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center.
The incident was the third vigilante-style killing in Tejero in 17 days.
Last Feb. 22, Hector Salcedo, 44, alleged local contact of the Mindanao-based robbery group Kuratong Baleleng gang and suspected notorious drug pusher, was gunned down by three masked men on Alviola St., Villa-gonzalo II.
Five days after Salcedo's death, suspected robber and alleged rugby supplier Dominador Villamor Jr. 20, was also killed in Sitio Silangan II, T. Padilla Ext.
One of the alleged gunmen, identified as Flordicante Sacol, a member of the Lungsod Batok Salaud, was arrested for the shooting.
| Post your experiences to the Sun.Star Graduation section. Click here. | 2005-02-24 04:52:02
mcalvo - My graduation was unforgettable to me and to my classmates. I was so drunk the night before graduation. During the ceremony i dozed to the point of snooring even when i was already standing i was half sleeping. Our dean has to call my name twice and the person behind me has to push me just to wake me up... graduations are memorable...enjoy and congratulations to all graduates!
Read more experiences |
(March 11, 2005 issue)
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45 new blood infection cases noted in region