POLICE caught the alleged killer of a police chief in a chase that started from Barangay Yati, Liloan and ended inside a bar in Barangay Tipolo, Mandaue City last Monday night.
Liloan Police Chief Franco Rudolf Oriol identified the suspected killer as Jaypee Rosal, who allegedly works for alleged drug lord Alvaro “Barok” Alvaro.
Oriol said that investigators are trying to find out if Barok is still in the illegal drug trade. The man has been behind bars in the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) since he surrendered nearly six months ago.
Senior Insp. Jonas Tahanlangit was chief of the police force in Poro, Camotes when he was gunned down in Danao City last April.
Before the arrest past 11 p.m. last Monday, Roque “RR Alvaro” Almerez, a first-degree cousin of Barok, escaped from the police team that ran after Rosal.
Almerez later died in a shootout with the police in Pulangyuta, Barangay Looc, Danao City at 3:25 p.m. yesterday.
Danao City Police Chief Alejandro Batobalonos said they merely retaliated at the suspect, who opened fire at them after realizing he was dealing with undercover officers.
“He was a member of a gun-for-hire group,” he said.
P55K for a life
Seized from Almerez were 2.6 grams of white crystals believed to be shabu worth P33,748, an Ingram submachine gun loaded with three bullets and three empty shells, P400 cash and two marked P100 bills used in the bust.
Oriol said that one of the suspects admitted they had been ordered to execute three intelligence operatives of Danao City Police Station for P55,000 each, but the suspect refused to say who instructed them.
Danao City Police Chief Alejandro Batobalonos said they received the same report, adding that Barok’s group was mad at them for their tougher drive against the shabu trade in the city.
“Nahatagan na daw sila sa down payment. Apil man gani ko sa target nila (They had been given the down payment. I was one of their targets),” he said in a phone interview.
Several firearms and more than P100,000 worth of illegal drugs were seized from the suspects.
Oriol said it is possible Barok remains involved in the illegal drug trade. “Sila ang nagpadayon sa negosyo ni Barok (They kept Barok’s business going),” he said in a phone interview.
Police Regional Office 7 Director Noli Taliño has directed the intelligence operatives to help investigate the case.
Interrogation
He said the murder of Tahanlangit had to do with the latter’s campaign against illegal drugs in Poro, where Barok’s supply allegedly came from. Tahanlangit, then the Poro, Camotes police station chief, was shot and killed last April 4, 2016.
He was driving his black Toyota Hilux with Rene James Sampan, 16, and Theresa Ann Montalban, 19, as his passengers when the attack happened. The teenagers were wounded.
Rosal, 29, reportedly admitted to the police during interrogation yesterday dawn that he had shot Tahanlangit.
But when later interviewed by reporters, the suspect denied he confessed killing the police official to the investigators of Mandaue City Police Station 2.
The suspect was arrested along with Arnel Mata, 26, and his brother Noel Nodmar, 17.
Two .38 revolvers, a .45 pistol, AR15 rifle, bullets, and three large and eight small sachets of shabu that weighed 15.32 grams and were worth P179,714 were confiscated from the suspects.
Oriol said they were planning to conduct a buy-bust, targeting a drug pusher in the town. One of his intelligence operatives, PO1 Eden Pepito, was part of the team.
Chase
Pepito was having his motorcycle fixed inside a vulcanizing shop past 7 p.m. when one of the suspects—later identified as Arnel—got mad at the mechanic.
Arnel allegedly pulled out his gun. Pepito, who wore civilian clothes, tried to grab the firearm from him.
The other suspects pulled out their guns, prompting Pepito to hide behind the comfort room.
The mechanics saw the suspects try to shoot Pepito, but their guns failed to fire.
Pepito called for backup and Oriol led his team in chasing the suspects, who boarded two motorcycles. Almerez was alone on his motorcycle, while the three others were on the other motorcycle.
The police traveled to Mandaue City, after one of the shop’s mechanics found the suspects near the corner going to Barangay Canduman. The mechanic was driving his motorcycle toward his home in the city at the time.
Trapped
When the police caught up with them, the suspects did not surrender and sped off toward Cebu City. They finally engaged the police in a shootout outside K45 KTV bar.
Almerez escaped, while his other cohorts went inside the bar.
Oriol’s team tried to get inside, but the guards blocked them.
They waited for about 15 minutes and the personnel of Mandaue City Police Station 2, before they were allowed by the bar’s manager to get the suspects.
Police caught Arnel and his brother in one of the VIP (very important persons) rooms, while they arrested Rosal who attempted to escape by climbing on to the roof of a neighboring building.
The suspects later told the police that they had checked in at a motel in Subangdaku, Mandaue City. Police went inside the room and recovered the contraband, but Almerez was nowhere to be found.
Batobalonos said they had planned to arrest Almerez and his cohorts, but they had a hard time capturing them because the suspects relocated outside Danao City.
“Mga bagsik na sila (They are known to be tough),” he said.