Lastimoso kin shot to death

A relative of Land Transportation Office chief, Roberto Lastimoso, was shot to death Tuesday night in Pasay City. Police identified the victim as Thirdskee Caserial-Lastimoso, 47, of Block 11 Lot 14 Adeluna 1-A San Pedro, Laguna.

Lastimoso, a lawyer with his own private practice, sustained two gunshot wounds in the face and one in the shoulder. He was killed on the spot.

In a statement, a scavenger said he heard three successive gunshots near the Philippine National Bank building on the President Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard (PDMB) at around 7:30 p.m. Then, he said, he saw a rust colored pick-up and a red motorcycle rush toward Baclaran. The scavenger, along with his family, later discovered Lastimoso lying prostrate in the gutter of the southbound lane of the PDMB, bleeding profusely. He was wearing a white long-sleeved barong and black pants. Only the victim’s Nokia 3210 cellular phone was discovered by the police in the crime scene.

Inspector Michael Chavez, chief of the Pasay Criminal Investigation Division, said investigators are still determining the motive behind Lastimoso’s killing.

Chavez said investigators have yet to talk to the victim’s wife, Amelia, for leads as she was still in a state of shock. He said the killing may be related to one of Lastimoso’s cases but this theory could be speculative at the point. However, in a television interview yesterday morning, Amelia said that the killing may have been carried out by a client of her husband.

Witnesses also said Lastimoso was seen Tuesday night in a mall and a hotel in Pasay City. Then he was reportedly seen leaving the hotel on board a pick-up.

Witnesses also said Lastimoso was made to go down the vehicle before he was shot to death. – Nikko Dizon