Police Colonel Ireneo B. Dalogdog, City Director of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO). | Emmariel Ares
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Police here have filed on Thursday, February 8, a charge of murder against the suspect behind the fatal hit-and-run of Jeslar Uriel Larumbe.
Four days after the 23-year-old Larumbe was left sprawled on the road lifeless, authorities have filed the charge against the suspect in the viral incident which sent shock waves in the entire Cebuano community.
The prime suspect was also the owner of the sports-utility vehicle (SUV) that was earlier found to be similar to the vehicle in the CCTV footage of the incident.
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However, as of this writing, police have opted not to reveal the suspect’s name.
Despite the SUV owner’s earlier denial, investigating officers said they have gathered sufficient evidence to pin him as the perpetrator.
According to Cebu City Police Director, Col. Ireneo Dalogdog, witnesses and other pieces of evidence implicated the SUV owner as the person behind the wheels when Larumbe was killed by hit-and-run on Sunday, February 4.
It can be recalled that the 23-year-old basketball player died after the motorcycle he was driving was hit by a vehicle with sirens and “VIP blinkers.”
The hit-and-run incident took place near the Redemptorist Church in uptown Cebu City.
The gray SUV was captured in a CCTV footage immediately fleeing from the scene and leaving the injured Larumbe behind.
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Larumbe did not make it alive to the hospital.
During a press conference on Thursday, a spokesperson of the Police Regional Office Central Visayas (PRO-7) stated that they have gathered multiple pieces of evidence against the suspect.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Gerard Ace Pelare relayed that they recovered CCTV footages, testimonies from witnesses, as well as forensic evidence from the vehicles involved in the incident.
At past 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, personnel from the CCPO filed murder charges against the suspect at the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office.
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