Cops tag Lawyer as suspect Architect gunned down inside LNU library bldg

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines — An architect and project consultant of the Leyte Normal University in this city was gunned down inside his office at the school’s Library Building yesterday afternoon.

City Police Director, Senior Superintendent Domingo Cabillan identified the victim as Jess Archimedes Moscare, 50 years old resident of Lolita Homes Subdivision at Barangay Guindapunan of Palo, Leyte. He had two gunshot wounds on his back from a .45-caliber pistol, said the police official.

Cabillan said the City Police is now conducting a hot pursuit operation against the alleged suspect, who they identified as 42-year-old lawyer Aquilino Mejica, a native of Oras, Eastern Samar but a resident of Kassel City Subdivision at Barangay 91, this city.

City Police Station 2 chief, Senior Inspector Edgar Octaviano, said investigations showed that at 12:28 pm. Moscare was last seen alive alone at his office, at the 2nd floor of the LNU Library building, reading a newspaper.

A certain Engineer Ramberto Cidro, who last saw Moscare in the office, said that when he went back to the building, he saw the victim already bent over the table with his head on his arms but with blood oozing from his body. This prompted Cidro to call for assistance from his co-employees and the school security guards.

Octaviano said the lawyer, who was the alleged murder suspect, was captured by a CCTV camera installed in the premises, entering the building, where the victim’s office is located, and carrying with him an envelope, probably containing the pistol supposedly used in the crime.

“As of now we have a possible suspect but we are still gathering concrete evidences to confirm if he was really the perpetrator,” Octaviano told The Freeman.

CCTV footage also showed that, a few minutes after the shooting, the lawyer later drove off a KIA Picanto (plate number AAE 4624), which was parked outside the campus earlier.

The police later traced the car abandoned in front a residential house at Kassel City Subdivision of Abucay district, this city. They also traced the car to belong to Mejica, who was however not in the area and could have left for Eastern Samar.

Cabillan said initial investigation showed the victim and the suspect had no personal grudges and that jealousy could probably be one of the motives of the killing.

Officials of the Leyte Normal University refused to give comments over the shooting incident, but the police learned that Mejica is currently under suspension from his law practice, for two years, as imposed by the Integrated Bar of the Philippines-Leyte chapter.  - Miriam Garcia Desacada, Eileen Nazareno Ballesteros (FREEMAN)