CEBU CITY, Philippines – The police on Tuesday considered last week's killing of a nursing student solved following the arrest of three young men – two of them are members of the Crips youth gang.Mark Anthony Gabriel, 18, and Aivan Barabat, 20, confessed to shooting Ruby Jade Ruba when they held her up on the unlighted Governor Roa Street in Barangay (village) Capitol Site on March 5. Carl Mark Carteciano, 21, went to the Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Bureau (CIIB) office to clear his name but ended up being arrested after Gabriel and Barabat identified him as the one who planned the robbery and drove the black Aura motorcycle which they used as getaway vehicle. Earlier reports of the holdup described two men in the crime. Carteciano said that while the two were his friends, he had no part in the robbery. A repentant Barabat, a resident of Barangay Kalunasan, told reporters on Monday that he did not mean to shoot Ruba when he took her P5,000 Nokia phone. He said that he was so drunk that when the girl screamed for help, he instinctively pulled the trigger of his .38 caliber revolver. “Nagbasol gyod ko sir, pero wa na man koy mahimo (I regretted what I did but there was nothing I could do anymore),” Barabat said. The phone has not been recovered. Inspector Mario Monilar, Cebu City Police Office head of the homicide section, said they would file robbery with homicide charges against the three suspects on Tuesday. The complaint was supposed to be filed yesterday at the Cebu City Prosecutor's Office but they were not able to complete the documents in time. Monilar said he believed they had strong case against the suspects because aside from the confession of Barabat and Gabriel, three male witnesses positively identified the suspects as the ones who shot and killed Ruba. These witnesses tried to collar the suspects when Ruba was shot. But they stopped in their tracks when Barabat pointed his gun at them. Ruba, 20 and a graduating nursing student of Cebu Doctor's University Hospital, went to her friend's apartment on Governor Roa Street close to midnight on March 5 to borrow the adaptor for a computer laptop. She was texting on her cellphone outside the building when she was robbed and shot. The senseless killing of the only daughter of a Coast Guard officer raised concerns about the safety of city streets at night. Task Force Ruby Jade, composed of policemen from the CIIB, homicide section and Fuente Police Station, was formed. Over the weekend, policemen “invited for questioning” several young men who either had police records or belonged to a gang. Among them was Gabriel, a resident of Sitio (district) Ponce, Barangay Capitol Site. He squealed on the identities of his companions, said Senior Superintendent Patrocinio Comendador Jr., Cebu City police director. Barabat was picked up inside a billiard hall of Dayang's Store on B. Rodriguez Street on Monday morning. Barabat and Gabriel sport similar tattoos on their right shoulder: BK 187. They said the BK stands for “Bloods Killer” in reference to the rival gang Bloods. The police also tagged them as the ones who also robbed an Internet cafe in Barangay Lorega last week. Upon the advice of his brother, Carteciano went to the CIIB on Monday to clear his name. But when Barabat and Gabriel identified him as their third companion, the police immediately arrested him. The police later recovered the black Aura motorcycle from Carteciano's house in Barangay Kalunsan. According to Barabat, they had a drinking session at the Dayang's Store before the robbery. After they had their fill, they rode the motorcycle to Cebu Doctor's Hospital then turned to Governor Roa Street where they chanced upon Ruba who was texting on her cellphone. Carteciano allegedly told his companions to rob the girl. Barabat and Gabriel got off the motorcycle and approached Ruba. When he took the phone, Ruba screamed for help. Barabat then pulled the trigger, shooting the student in the chest. “Di man unta to nako pusilon, nisyagit man, hubog kaayo ko (I did not mean to shoot her but she screamed and I was so drunk),” Barabat said. He and Gabriel then ran to the waiting motorcycle driven by Carteciano. They first went to Escario Street before deciding to go home. They said they pawned the cellphone to Maria Baswa, a neighbor of Barabat in Opra, Barangay Kalunasan, for P3,000. Baswa, who was picked up by the police, on Monday denied accepting the phone. Police said Baswa would be charged as an accessory to robbery with homicide. Barabat said he gave the .38 caliber revolver to Carteciano – an allegation strongly denied by the latter. “Iya man tong armas giuli nako human pagpusil (He owned the gun. I just returned it after the shooting),” Barabat said. Gabriel and Barabat said they regretted their action. “Konsensya gyod ko, sir (I was bothered by my conscience sir),” said Barabat. Carteciano, however, denied any involvement. He said he went to the police office after he heard over the radio that he was being implicated in the crime. “Giingnan ko sa akong maguwang nga mo-clear, mao nang niari ko (I was told by my brother to clear my name so I came here),” he said. Carteciano said that at the time of the robbery, he was at home in Barangay Kalunasan. He said the motorcycle owned by his elder brother was not used in the crime. “Wa na man na gigamit nako kay expire man akong lisensya (I have not been using it since my license has expired),” he said. Carteciano said he was not a Crips member although Barabat was his classmate in elementary school. Carteciano said he was a psychology student who was forced to drop out when his girlfriend got pregnant. With the arrest of the three suspects, the police cleared three other men earlier implicated in the crime. One of them was Reynaldo Payabado who was arrested after he allegedly tried to extort money from a businessman. Police also cleared Isabelo Fernandez, 24, and Leanardo dela Cruz, alias Boy Tagab, 22, who were earlier arrested in connection with the holdup of a Dutchman on the same day that Ruba was killed. | 
