(From left) Arnel Mata, 26; his 17-year-old brother; and Jeppe Rosal, 29, are believed to be hired killers involved in the slay of Poro Police Chief Jonas Tajanlangit and remants of the drug ring of suspected drug lord Alvaro ‘Barok’ Alvaro. (CDN PHOTO/NORMAN MENDOZA)
Police believe the three suspects are involved in slay of Poro police chief
It was by chance that on Monday evening, an off-duty policeman who was having his motorcycle fixed, encountered four men arguing with his mechanic about a motorcycle they had also brought to him for fixing.
The four men were believed to be part of the illegal drug ring ran by self-confessed drug lord Alvaro “Barok” Alvaro operating in Danao City and its neighboring towns.
PO1 Eden Pepito of the Liloan Police Station tried to pacify the argument to prevent it from escalating, not knowing one of them was a suspect in the killing of Chief Insp. Jonas Tajanlangit Jr., chief of the Poro, Camotes Police last April.
The four men — Jeppe Rosal, 29, of San Francisco, Camotes; Arnel Mata, 26; a 17-year-old suspect, both from Danao City; and Roque Almerez were apparently all armed, but Pepito only noticed the teenager, who was allegedly about to pull out a gun.
PO1 Pepito immediately held him, but the teenager’s companions drew out their firearms and demanded his release.
Sensing his life was in danger, PO1 Pepito let go of the boy and backed off.
Gun malfunction
According to the mechanic, when the policeman turned his back, the teenager pulled the trigger of his gun several times but it malfunctioned and jammed.
Another suspect, Rosal, also tried to shoot the policeman, but the magazine of his firearm fell.
“Kung nibuto pa to ang ilang armas, patay na gyud ko karon (If their guns did not malfunction, I would have been dead right now),” said Pepito, who is set to marry his girlfriend next year.
The four suspects then boarded two motorcycles and sped away.
Liloan police led by Chief Insp. Rodulf Oriol, who responded to Pepito’s call later, got information from the mechanic’s friend that the suspects had arrived in Mandaue City and were inside a nightclub along MC Briones highway in Barangay Subangdaku.
Oriol then coordinated with the Subangdaku Police Station, which immediately sent a team lead by Senior Insp. Raymundo Enriquez.
A roadblock was put up at the reclamation area.
Meanwhile, Oriol’s team, who were in hot pursuit of the suspects, spotted their motorcycles outside the bar in Subangdaku.
As the police entered the bar, Almerez, also known as RR Alvaro, was able to escape. According to the police, Almerez is the nephew of Barok Alvaro, who is currently detained at the Cebu Provincial Jail. Police fired at Almerez but were unsure if he was hit.
The police, however, were able to successfully arrest the three other suspects.
Recovered from the suspects were an AR-15 Rifle with 4 live bullets, a .357 revolver with 4 live bullets, a .38 revolver with 4 live bullets, a.45 caliber pistol with 6 live bullets and silencer, suspected shabu worth P179,714, and two motorcycles.
The security guard of the bar told investigators that the suspects introduced themselves as policemen and deposited a .38 revolver.
The guard did not frisk the suspects and instead allowed them to enter the establishment.
Follow-up operation
Meanwhile, Danao City Police Chief, Senior Insp. Alejandro Batobalonos, upon learning of the arrest of the suspects, immediately went to the Subangdaku Police station, where he learned that the group allegedly planned to kill three police officers.
He asked the suspects where Almerez could be found and later went back to Danao City for a follow-up operation.
At 3:25 yesterday afternoon, they conducted a buy-bust operation in Sitio Pulangyuta, Barangay Looc.
Almerez was shot dead in an alleged shootout with the police.
The police recovered a medium pack and eight small sachets of suspected shabu, one Ingram submachine gun, and P400 cash believed to be proceeds of illegal drugs.
Rosal
One of the suspects, Rosal, was allegedly the gunman of Senior Insp. Jonas Tajanlangit, chief of police of Poro town on Camotes Islands last April 4.
TALIÑO
Police Regional Office (PRO-7) director, Chief Supt. Noli Taliño, directed investigators to conduct an in-depth probe to identify Rosal’s accomplices in allegedly killing Tajanlangit.
“Gusto nating malaman ang lahat na involved sa pagpaslang kay Senior Insp. Tajanlangit. Kung may sasabihin siya (Rosal), mag-conduct tayo nang operation o mag-file tayo ng kaso,” he told reporters.
(We want to know everyone involved in the death of Senior Insp. Tajanlangit. If Rosal will reveal information about the crime, then we will conduct operations or file charges against concerned individuals.)
Taliño believed Tajanlangit’s slay had something to do with illegal drugs trade although he was mum about the details.
Taliño said the firearms confiscated will undergo ballistic examination to find out if they were used in other crimes.
“There’s a possibility that (the suspects) were hired killers. We can solve a lot of cases out of their arrest,” he said.
Denial
The three suspects admitted owning the firearms and shabu, but denied involvement in the slay of Chief Insp. Tajanlangit.
In an interview, Rosal said he was not on Camotes Islands when the police official was killed.
Tajanlangit had just arrived on Camotes Islands and was about a kilometer away from the San Francisco Port when two unidentified men on board a motorcycle shot him last April 4. He was said to have received several death threats since 2014.
Rosal said the police linked him to Tajanlangit’s death because of his appearance.
“Tanan na lang nga patay, kami ang suspect. Kriminal man gud kog nawong (They have always associated us to the killings because I look like a criminal),” he told Cebu Daily News.
Rosal, a native of Barangay Sunog, San Francisco, Camotes, has been in and out of the town since he was a teenager. He said he was only in Liloan town to help his mother with her piggery business.
Rosal said he was detained for illegal possession of shabu (metamphetamine) and marijuana in 2010, but was released on bail in 2014. His case is still ongoing.
Rosal has various tattoos etched on his arms. Last Monday, he was in Consolacion to have another black tattoo inked on his right forearm, a design bearing a hand holding a crucifix.
“Wa ko kasabot kung bad luck or good luck ba ni (Whether this new tattoo is a bad luck or a good luck, I am not sure),” he said.
Senior Supt. Roberto Alanas, Mandaue City Police Office director, said charges of illegal possession of firearms and illegal drugs have been filed against the three suspects.
PO1 Pepito, meanwhile, said he will also file a complaint for attempted homicide against the three suspects.