Cebu Daily News / News

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Cops to focus on cohort of shooter, mastermind By Chito O. Aragon, Justin Anjuli K. Vestil Cebu Daily News Posted date: June 13, 2008 After arresting a suspected gun-for-hire, law enforcers are going after the driver of his getaway motorbike and the mastermind of the murder of lawyer Richard William “Dick” Sison. City police said their investigation will continue even after the arrest of Nemuel “Titing” Sumabong, whom witnesses identified as the shooter in the May 21 killing. “The NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) has apprehended Sumabong. Now, we will continue to investigate the unsolved pieces of the case,” said Senior Supt. Patrocinio Comendador Jr., Cebu City Police Office chief. He ordered the Cebu City Crime laboratory to task a ballistics expert to cross-match the evidence found in the crime scene. The Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) was also told to speed up the investigation of the contents of Sison’s cell phone. Police are looking into the background of Sumabong, a security guard of an establishment in Gochan Street, which is about a kilometer away from the crime scene. Sison was shot dead by a gunman at V. Sotto Street towards noon of May 21. The lawyer was driving his Toyota pick up which stopped in traffic to wait for a red light. The gunman got off a motorcycle, walked to the driver’s side of Sison’s vehicle and shot him through the window, according to witnesses. The gunman then fled on a motorcycle driven by another man. Comendador said that Sumabong’s name did not crop up in the police investigation but the positive identification of the witnesses found by the NBI would prevail. Comendador gave this clarification after Sumabong’s kin insisted the guard was made a fall guy for the crime. He said that even if Sumabong’s name was not included in the their investigation, this doesn’t mean Sumabong is cleared of charges against him. He said police were focusing on another theory but gave no details. Sumabong’s lawyer said he would ask the Cebu City Prosecutors Office to release his client because he was not arrested in a hot pursuit operation neither was he the subject of an arrest warrant. Quiban that the affidavit of NBI investigators showed that they only went to the crime scene on May 24, or three days after Sison was shot to death on May 21. Sumabong who was arrested in his rested room in Cebu City on Tuesday morning signed a waiver of detention on Wednesday. He was given 10 days to file his counter affidavit. However, Quiban said his client will withdraw the waiver of detention and ask for his immediate release. Quiban insisted that his client was a victim of mistaken identity. Five of Sumabong’s co-workers were ready to execute affidavits to attest that he was on duty as a security guard on the day Sison was killed. Police, however, are digging into the background of Sumabong, a native of Bogo, Cebu. They found out that Sumabong’s license as a security guard was not updated since 2006. License renewal is required for a security guard to legitimately work in an establishment. But Edna Tagaytay, head of King David Security Agency, said Sumabong’s license was not renewed because it was not yet released by his previous agency, St. Louie Security Agency due to his unpaid debts. /With a report from Reporter Nilda L. Gallo