THE two robbery suspects who were killed in a shootout with the Special Weapons and Tactics (Swat) team at Barangay Sum-ag, Bacolod City on Friday were linked to several killings in Negros Occidental.
Senior Superintendent Francisco Ebreo, acting director of Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO), said suspects - Armelle Espadon, 30, and his cousin Ryan Alib, 30, both residents of Sitio Antawan, Barangay Canlandog, Murcia town - were remnants of Agustin Criminal Gang that is engaged in gun-for-hire and robbery hold-up activities.
Both suspects were allegedly operating in Murcia, cities of Talisay and Bago, and nearby municipalities, Ebreo added.
Ebreo said these suspects allegedly had records of several killings but victims failed to pursue the case against them due to fear.
With their death, Ebreo said it lessens the problem of police against criminalities.
For his part, Senior Inspector Hercules Trigue Jr., deputy chief for administration of Bago City Police Station, said these suspects have no record of killings in the city but they were probably behind some robbery hold-up incidents in the area.
On August 10, the two suspects robbed a panel van of cigarette firm Japan Tobacco International in Barangay Taloc and carted away P39,490 from Christopher Gapay, 32, of Barangay 7, Bacolod City, and driver Ruben Cuelo, 38.
However, a tricycle driver, who passed by the area saw the commotion and informed the Swat which is situated at the boundary of Bago and Bacolod for border security patrol.
A brief chase then followed after the informant identified the suspects and their motorcycle.
The suspects were cornered in front of Sum-ag National High School, where four civilians, including the daughter of Isabela Mayor Joselito Malabor, were hit by stray bullets during the shootout.
Ebreo said four of the seven members of the Swat team engaged in the shootout with the suspects.
Police recovered from the scene two .38 caliber revolvers and a motorcycle owned by the two suspects, the stolen money amounting to P39,460, a cellular phone owned by one of the suspects, six fired bullets of .9mm caliber, 15 fired bullets of an M16 rifle, and two slugs.
Killed during the crossfire was pedicab driver Delfin Ortiz, 70, of the said village, while injured were 71-year-old Estrella Claridad, Walter Dojena, and Malabor's daughter.
Wounded victims are still confined at a hospital. The BCPO extended financial assistance amounting to P35,000 to the family of the pedicab driver and the two victims.
Ebreo said all the responding Swat members and the suspects will be subjected for paraffin test. Their firearms were also surrendered for ballistic examination to determine who hit the civilians.
A motu proprio investigation will be conducted by the Regional Internal Affairs Service on the incident.
Meanwhile, Trigue said Cuelo, who was later found out to be in connivance with the suspects through text messages, will face robbery charges. The filing of charges will be done today.
Trigue said Cuelo knew the suspects since he is just living at the adjacent village, where the latter resides.
On the other hand, Isabela Mayor Joselito Malabor, in a media interview, said he was disappointed with the police operation because of the injuries inflicted on the civilians, which includes his daughter.
Malabor said police were successful in the neutralization of the robbery suspects but they failed to secure the safety of the civilians, who were at the area when the crossfire happened.
He said he wants a fair investigation of the incident but if he is not satisfied, he will bring the matter to the Department of Justice.