Witness rebuts defense witness: No hotel guest saw shooting

A witness of the prosecution, during yesterday's trial of the Choy Torralba attempted murder case against John Lloyd Ortiz, refuted the earlier testimony of a defense witness saying there was no hotel guest in any of the three hotel rooms who could have seen the shooting below.

Alma Garcia, front desk clerk of Vacation Hotel, said from June 6-11 there was no occupant in rooms 215, 216, and 217, contrary to the claim of defense witness Bernard Casugod that he was in one room of the hotel when Torralba was shot on June 8 last year.

All three rooms were located at the second floor of the hotel. Casugod testified that, on June 8 last year, he and his entourage for his wedding that day occupied the three mentioned rooms of the hotel.

He said he was in room 216 when he heard gunshots and when he looked out from the room's window he saw two men carrying guns and shooting to the direction of Torralba's car. He said that none of the two assailants he saw resembled Ortiz's physical features.

Prosecution lawyer Adelino Sitoy presented Garcia who told the court she was on duty that day and, when she heard gunshots, she ran toward the rooms so she could see through the windows what happened outside.

She went first to room 215, which she said was a housekeeping station. When she failed to see what was going on below, she went to room 216, which was unoccupied and finally to room 217. When she could not see anything she said she transferred to the adjacent room, 216, as it was deserted. She also said she went to room 217. - Liv G. Campo