Witness tags 2 suspects in shooter's killing

MANILA, Philippines - A witness in the murder of a Philippine practical shooting team member in Malabon City last September showed up yesterday at the Northern Police District (NPD) headquarters to identify two suspects.

The witness, who requested anonymity, said Marvin Tresvalles, an alleged member of the hit squad of communist rebels and Jimmy Dadison, who has a pending warrant of arrest at the Malabon City court for murder, are two of the four suspects behind the Sept. 25 killing of Michael Lontoc.

“I was about four to five meters away from the car of the victim when he (Lontoc) was fired upon by the gunmen. I saw three of the suspects, two carrying machine pistols while one was armed with a .45 caliber handgun,” the witness, also a shooter, told The STAR in an interview.

The witness identified Dadison as one the alleged gunman through a picture provided by the NPD’s Special Task Group headed by Chief Superintendent Antonio Decano.

He said that another gunman who was brandishing a machine pistol and fired at the left side of the victim’s vehicle was Tresvalles. He said he did not see the face of the third suspect, who was at back of Lontoc’s car.

The NPD Special Task Group headed by Superintendent Remus Medina, the Malabon City police, and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, are preparing charges against Dadison and Tresvalles.