Thursday, July 24, 2008 Police arrest ‘gunman’ of slain Pardo teener
A 24-year-old man, who is out on bail for illegal possession of firearm and ammunition charges last May, was arrested after being tagged as the one who shot and killed a 17-year-old boy in Bayanihan Village, Basak Pardo, Cebu City last Monday.
Bill Bixby C. Regner, who resides in the neighboring Barangay Basak San Nicolas, however, denied any involvement in the crime.
Because at least four witnesses pointed to him as the alleged gunman in the killing of Clint Florida, a complaint for murder was filed yesterday afternoon before the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office.
SPO1 Jay Yballe, Homicide Section chief investigator, said Regner has signed a waiver of detention and asked for a preliminary investigation.
Florida, who hails from Bantayan Island, Cebu died after he was shot in the head while walking along the road in Bayanihan Village where he temporarily lived in his aunt’s house.
Yballe said they filed the murder complaint instead of robbery with homicide because they were not able to establish if a robbery indeed occurred.
Earlier information gathered by the police showed that after shooting Florida, the gunman took the cellular phone of the victim.
The investigators, however, later learned from Florida’s kin that the victim had no cellular phone.
Cebu City Police Office Director Patrocinio Comendador tasked the Homicide Section, Theft and Robbery Section, Pardo Police Station and Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Bureau (CIIB) to investigate the incident.
CIIB Chief George Ylanan told reporters yesterday that since Monday, they have conducted follow-up operations that brought them to Barangays Basak San Nicolas and Inayawan.
Last Tuesday night, with the assistance of Basak San Nicolas Barangay Captain George Rama, Regner went to the CIIB office hoping to clear his name in the allegation.
But Regner was placed under arrest after witnesses identified him as the gunman.
Regner, who was presented to the media yesterday, denied the allegation.
He said he was in his house when the incident occurred. He claimed he did not know Florida and that he has no motive to kill the victim. (JST)
