An alleged toughie of barangay Duljo-Fatima and two of his alleged enemies were arrested after being blamed for several shooting incidents in the area and neighboring barangay Mambaling.
The suspects who were arrested by members of the Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Branch and Mobile Patrol Group were identified as Jasper Canton, alias “Tabilong”, 30, of sitio Buli, barangay Duljo-Fatima and his “enemies” identified as Antonio Tuhino, 19, and Leonardo Galedo.
The arrest was made after Jenine Mijares, 36, whose live-in partner Rolando Galedo, alias “Bogart”, both residents of sitio Puntod, barangay Mambaling, was reportedly threatened to be killed by Canton and his gang.
Canton’s gang is based in Duljo-Fatima not far from where Mijares lives.
The police reported receiving many alarms regarding armed persons and shootings between the group of Bogart and Canton since May 5 when Bogart’s nephew Jerome Cabo, 22 was shot dead.
Mijares said last May 5 Cabo was on his way to Duljo-Fatima to attend a benefit dance when Canton’s group along with Alexis Rosales and a certain “Ondo” Budlat waylaid him and shot him dead.
After that incident, the group of Canton reportedly continued threatening Mijares’ family and their neighbors by saying there will be more killings to follow, including Bogart and Galedo.
Since then, both groups reportedly engaged in skirmishes in the area, endangering the residents and causing alarms. Last Saturday Canton reportedly attacked the neighborhood of the Mijares and both groups engaged in a running gunbattle, but no one was reported hurt.
Tuhino accused Canton as the one who pointed a gun at him last Saturday, prompting him to scamper for safety while others called the police.
After Mijares’ complaint, the police came to arrest Canton in his house yesterday morning and recovered a homemade shotgun.
During last Saturday’s incident, city police chief Patrocinio Comendador said almost all of its patrol cars in the MPG were dispatched to run after the perpetrators but both groups always ran and hid in the interior parts of the said places like they always did.
The police have yet to find Bogart and Canton’s gang members who are still hiding. — Edwin Ian Melecio/BRP