Gayotin's driver may face relief

The civilian driver of acting city police director Melvin Gayotin may have been freed from any charges in relation to the accidental shooting of a woman last Tuesday afternoon in barangay Carreta, Cebu City, but chances are he might be relieved from his post soon.

Jose Jerry Leonardo will soon be back as driver of the Mobile Patrol Group once Gayotin finds a replacement soon. Gayotin said he is looking for another driver because Leonardo drives as fast as if he is responding to an alarm like what he used to do when he was still under the MPG.

Regarding the shooting incident, Gayotin pointed out that Leonardo's deed was commendable because he responded to a developing crime, but stressed that Leonardo should have made it sure that the gun is safe.

He also told Leonardo that it is always a must to bring a wounded victim to hospital for treatment unlike what the latter had done when he went away, leaving the wounded victim, for the reason that he got scared.

Teresa dela Peña was wounded on her right shoulder after the .45 pistol of Leonardo accidentally went off when he was trying to arrest a suspected snatcher who was running away.

Investigation revealed that Dela Peña was onboard a 03A jeepney from Mabolo bound for Colon because she was supposedly on her way to the National Statistics Office to have her marriage contract authenticated.

At about the same time, a 16-year-old snatcher reportedly grabbed an earring from a woman who was standing by and ran away. This scenario was what Leonardo had witnessed at past 2pm while he was driving a private multicab from Mabolo after bringing his child to school. When he saw the boy running, he followed him.

The boy, in his attempt to escape, boarded the jeepney where Dela Peña was. At that time, the jeepney stopped for the red light so that Leonardo had the time to disembark from his multicab and trailed the boy.

He said when the boy tried to resist, he grabbed him and then pistol-whipped him in the head thrice until the gun accidentally went off, the bullet of which wounded dela Peña.

The boy was arrested along with the barangay tanods of Carreta and was detained at the Mabolo police station. Leonardo, on the other hand, left the area and it took him until yesterday morning to surrender, admitting he was scared.

Dela Peña, meanwhile, said that she heard bursts of gunfire and then she felt numbness on her right shoulder thereafter, then the slug reportedly fell beside her so that she realized she was the one hit.

She said nobody bothered to bring her to hospital but it was just fortunate that beside the vehicle was a Mandaue Police car. The officers on board were the ones who brought her to the Cebu City Medical Center. However, the victim didn't push through with the filing of the case, which had freed Leonardo from any charges. - Ryan P. Borinaga