Convicted Cebuano rapist shot in escape attempt

CEBU CITY — A former ba—rangay councilman, who is serving a life term for raping his 16-year-old maid, was shot and wounded the other day when he attempted to escape from his security escort after attending a court hearing.

Convicted rapist Renulfo Ortiz, 51, was taken to the Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) Tuesday morning to attend a civil case being heard by Judge Edgemelo Rosales in which he is the complainant against couple Alberto and Fe Sadili.

His escort, jail officer Karl-Lynn Espinosa, said that after the hearing, while they were waiting for the jail van to take them back to the Bagong Buhay Rehabilitation Center, a son of Ortiz named Pericles suddenly arrived on a motorcycle driven by another person and, alighting, abruptly placed himself between the guard and his father to give the latter a chance to flee.

Espinosa fired warning shots in the air as Ortiz made his dash for freedom. And in an apparent attempt to prevent Espinosa from eventually aiming at his father, Pericles grappled for the gun.

But because he was taller than Pericles, Espinosa managed to take a shot at the fleeing Ortiz, who by now was being driven away by the other man on the motorcycle.

The shot hit Ortiz in the back but instead of stopping, the man driving the motorcycle tried to speed away. But just as it got past the gate at the Palace of Justice compound, the motorcycle crashed.

Ortiz, though wounded, still tried to make good his escape by jumping on a jeepney bound for Banawa. The man driving the motorcycle picked himself up and fled on foot.

Inside the compound, Espinosa and Pericles continued to grapple for the gun until it went off and wounded Pericles in the abdomen.

Another man on a motorcycle, who witnessed the incident, offered Espinosa a ride and they gave chase to the fleeing Ortiz.

The jeepney Ortiz was on got stuck at the red light at the intersection of V. Rama Avenue and M. Velez street. Espinosa caught up with Ortiz and arrested him. By this time, other policemen had also arrived to assist Espinosa.

Ortiz and Pericles were taken to different hospitals.

Vivencio Anunsawon, a security guard at the Palace of Justice, witnessed the incident and confirmed that Espinosa first fired three warning shots before finally aiming at the fleeing Ortiz.

Espinosa later identified the motorcycle’s driver as the boyfriend of Ortiz’s daughter who occasionally visited the convict in jail. — Freeman News Service