The Quezon City police are hunting down one of their rookie cops tagged in the killing of an elderly man found handcuffed outside a cemetery on Sunday night.
The Quezon City Police District launched a manhunt against Police Officer 1 Jerald Yabot Paguinto who was seen with the victim, Julito Ramos, 68, before the latter was found dead on a sidewalk outside the North Cemetery on A. Bonifacio Avenue in Barangay NS Amoranto around10:30 p. m. on March 5.
The victim, wearing a gray polo shirt and black shorts, was found dead with gunshot wounds in the head and neck with his hands cuffed on the back. He also sustained bruises on his legs, the police report said.
Police identified the victim through his son Juliver who reported that his father went missing after he left their house in Barangay 164, Caloocann City, for an errand in Barangay Tandang Sora.
The QCPD said Juliver’s description of his father fitted the slain man’s features. He positively identified Ramos when they saw the body in Archangel Funeral Homes in Manila.
Investigators were also able to find a witness to the killing.
Before Ramos was discovered dead, police said a resident saw Paguinto mauling Ramos around 9:30 p.m. in front of a bakery at the corner of Quirino Highway and Mindanao Avenue in Barangay Talipapa.
The witness added that after beating the victim, the cop allegedly handcuffed the old man and forced him to board his motorcycle. The two then sped off towards Balintawak.
The witness was able to identify the cop when investigators showed him pictures of policemen assigned in the area.
Paguinto, 37, is detailed at the QCPD Talipapa Police Station (PS-3). Since the killing of Ramos, he has not reported for duty, said QCPD police officials.
QCPD records showed that the cop entered the service in 2002 and was assigned to the district in September 2016. He was assigned as beat patrol officer in PS-3 last December 16. (Vanne Elaine P. Terrazola)