Man with robbery cases gunned down

ILOILO CITY, Philippines  — A 32-year-old man, with several robbery cases, was peppered with bullets by still unidentified persons shortly after midnight of yesterday at Zone 3 in Brgy. San Juan of Molo district in this city. 

The victim, identified as Mark Castro, was standing near a store and talking to his neighbor, Jude Banhaw, when a silver gray car stopped near them. There were at least four men in the car and three of them alighted from the vehicle.

Without any word, the three men fired at Castro but not Banhaw who dashed away from the scene. The gunmen immediately sped off to undisclosed direction. Castro sustained 12 injuries on the different parts of his body. He was rushed to Iloilo Doctors’ Hospital but was declared dead on arrival.

Recovered from the crime scene were nine empty shells of .45-caliber pistol and three empty shells of .9mm pistol.

Chief Insp. Jay Malong, Molo Police chief, said probers are looking for lead on the people behind Castro’s death. Banhaw, for his part, could hardly describe the men who fired at his friend. He also failed to get the description of the car except of its color.

Malong said: “He’s (Castro) been involved in several misdemeanors. So, there could be a lot of individuals who harbored grudges against him.”

Records from the Iloilo City Police Office showed that two cases of robbery were filed against Castro in 2009, and a case of frustrated homicide in 2010.

Castro was also named suspect of several akyat-bahay incidents in Juntado Subdivision in Molo district and was involved in another robbery incident in Jaro district last April, this year.

Superintendent Noel Lamsis, chief of ICPO Special Operations Group, said Castro belonged to the Ogdang Robbery Gang operating in this city.  (FREEMAN)