Cops eye grudge, woman in Peek slay try

MANILA, Philippines - The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) is eyeing either a grudge or a woman as possible angles in its probe of the slay try on Talk N Text basketball player Ali Peek, an official said yesterday.

Superintendent Danilo Macerin, acting head of the CIDG’s National Capital Region (NCR) office, said they ruled out robbery in the slay try as Peek himself declared that nothing of importance was taken from him during the attack.

“The robbery angle is completely ruled out and we are now focusing our effort in the personal grudge and woman angles,” Macerin said, noting that Peek is cooperating fully in their investigation of the case.

According to Macerin, an informant chasing the P500,000 reward offered by Talk N Text chairman Manny Pangilinan, led them to a person who resembles the computer-generated image of the man who shot Peek last Nov. 7 outside the RFM gym along Pioneer street in Mandaluyong City at around 7 p.m.

Macerin clarified that the man is not yet a suspect in Peek’s slay try. “We are now in the process of looking for two or three witnesses who could positively identify him as the gunman before we could arrest him,” Macerin told The STAR.

The CIDG is currently conducting a background check on the man to determine whether he has police records or had been a member of a gun-for-hire syndicate. Macerin refused to give further details regarding the man so as not to jeopardize ongoing “follow-up operations.”

Peek, in an interview following the attack, said he himself is at a loss as to who could be out to kill him. The basketball player was discharged recently from the Medical City and Macerin said he will send an investigator to take Peek’s statement on the angles the CIDG is pursuing. 

The Peek family is still deliberating whether or not to remove the bullet that is still embedded below his skull, which reports said is jeopardizing his playing career.