BACOLOD CITY – Police operatives arrested Saturday an alleged gun-for-hire tagged in the killing of Bayawan City Councilor Alex Tizon in Negros Oriental. Operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG)-Negros Oriental, along with personnel of Vallehermoso Municipal Police Station, and 1st Provincial Mobile Force Company, served an arrest warrant for murder against Jeason Tapuz Barte, 30, of Basay town.
The warrant with no bail was issued on Aug. 14, 2020 by Presiding Judge Maria Myla Rae M. Santos-Orden of Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 63 in Bayawan City. Lt. Col. Ariel Huesca, CIDG-Negros Oriental head, said they conducted surveillance first against the suspect in close coordination with Basay Municipal Police Station, and Bayawan City Police Station.
“We learned that the suspect left his house in Basay town on Friday night, and went to his wife’s house in Bayawan City, where he was arrested the following day,” Huesca said.
Huesca said the warrant stemmed from the murder of Tizon, also a retired policeman, who was shot dead by motorcycle-riding assailants in Barangay Villareal, Bayawan City last February 18.
Barte was one of the accused in the murder case, based on the backtracking of closed circuit television (CCTV) camera footages, Huesca said.
Huesca said the motorcycle used in the crime was recovered at Barte’s house during his arrest, but the latter denied such allegation.
He said nine persons were involved in the crime, but the case filed against seven others were dismissed for lack of evidence.
He said investigation is still ongoing to find other pieces of evidence that would link other persons of interest to the killing.
The investigation of the case is being handled by the Special Investigation Task Group Tizon (SITG Tizon), he added.
Barte is now detained at the CIDG office. (Glazyl Masculino)
