Ex-Porac mayor’s son tagged in shooting near Lapid house

CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga — The police have tagged a son of a former mayor of Porac town as the one allegedly responsible for the indiscriminate shooting near the residence of Sen. Manuel Lapid two months ago in an apparent attempt to sow fear among the Lapid family.  

The suspect, Tristan Leroy de Ausen David, son of the late former Porac mayor Roy David and former provincial board member Edna de Ausen David, has been charged in the provincial prosecutor’s office in the City of San Fernando.

The police said a witness positively identified David as one of the occupants of a Nissan Safari who fired into the air his 9-mm Jericho pistol last June 1, some 50 meters away from the Lapid residence in Barangay Poblacion, Porac town.

The witness, whose identity was withheld for security reasons, said he heard David said, "May araw ka rin sa akin Meynard, Matityempuhan din kita... Mga Lapid kayo, isa-isa ko kayong papatayin (You’ll have your day, Meynard. I will catch you... You, Lapids, I will kill each one of you)."

Meynard is a son of Sen. Lapid and brother of Gov. Mark Lapid. He now resides in the United States due to the seriousness of David’s threats.

The senator’s security officers recovered two spent 9-mm shells at the scene and they were sent to the Firearms and Explosives Division (FED) at Camp Crame for ballistic tests.

The FED’s Firearms and Information Management System certified that David’s license as a registered holder of a 9-mm Jericho pistol with serial number 112715, issued on July 24, 2003, expired last Aug. 8.

Both Sen. Lapid and Gov. Lapid could not be reached for comment as of press time.