Another handiwork of vigilantes: Cop shooting suspect killed

A man suspected of shooting two men including a policeman last December was gunned down at Acacia St., barangay Capitol Site Wednesday night vigilante-style by three men onboard a minivan.

Another person was also killed in a vigilante-style attack in another part of the city while one more was hurt in another shooting incident.

Romeo 'Micmic' Rico, who was reported to have shot PO2 Ronelito Montañez and his neighbors Juanito Atoy and Roy Cadalen in sitio Kawayan, barangay Sambag II last December 17.

Rico, 21 years old and single, was with a friend onboard a motorcycle when he got down at Acacia St. to urinate. While standing with his back to the street, three men got off a minivan and peppered him with a hail of bullets causing his death.

Seeing what happened to Rico, his unidentified companion sped off to safety.

Witnesses told the Homicide Section policemen handling the case led by SPO3 Alex Dacua, the three assailants also immediately fled after the shooting.

Recovered from the crime scene were nine empty shells of .45 cal. ammunition, two live .38 cal. ammunition, a cellular phone, a black holster, two handkerchiefs (blue and red), and a slug of undetermined caliber.

Rico's body was brought to Rolling Hills Funeral Homes for autopsy.

Alfreda Ansag, mother of the victim, said that a friend who was riding a motorcycle picked up her son in Mandaue City. She added that a multicab was seen trailing the motorcycle that her son rode.

Rico, along with two of his brothers were implicated in the December 17 shooting incident in Sambag II and has not been heard of since.

The conflict in Sambag stemmed when Atoy confronted Rico, who reportedly alleged that the former was a police asset. This led to Rico shooting Atoy.

The commotion attracted their neighbor Cadalen, a former soldier who went to check what happened, but was also shot. The wounded Cadalen sent a text message to Montañez, who rushed to the place and was also fired upon.

Montañez is still recovering from the injuries he sustained.

The second fatality was a 30-year-old man in barangay Mabolo, Cebu City, who was shot dead outside the gate of Pier 6.

The unidentified assailant, who was reported to have worn a white T-shirt and a pair of maroon short pants and had his face covered with a handkerchief, killed Felix Bersano alias Caloy, who is a resident of the place.

The victim, who was once committed to the Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center (BBRC) for sniffing rugby, died from a single gunshot wound on the head.

Witnesses told policemen investigating the case led by SPO1 Jay Yballe that the gunman approached Bersano from behind while the victim was sitting in an eatery, but the gun did not fire.

Seeing the attempt, Bersano tried to run for his life, but the assailant followed him and fired thrice before the victim fell.

The victim's body was brought to San Fernando Funeral Homes for autopsy.

The victim's sister, Flordeliza, believes that her brother must have been mistaken for a certain Caloy, who is one of two known thieves living in their place. She also strongly suspects that the vigilantes had a hand in the killing of Bersano.

In barangay Inayawan, Cebu City, a 15-year-old scavenger was shot by his companion yesterday morning for refusing to give the suspect money to buy cigarettes.

The suspect was identified as a certain "Jeprox." The victim, Marlito Baldapan, single, of Basak Pardo, Cebu City was his on his left elbow and his back.

Based on the initial police investigation, the victim alleged that the victim and his friends were taunting the suspect when they refused to give him cigarette money. This apparently irked Jeprox, who shot the victim with an improvised gun locally known as pugakhang.

Responding barangay tanods rushed the victim to the Cebu City Medical Center while the suspect immediately fled the scene.