Cops re-enact Odicta couple’s killing

The Special Investigation Task Force “Odicta” on Wednesday conducted a re-enactment of the killing of suspected drug lord Melvin Odicta and his wife, Meriam, at the Caticlan Jetty Port in Malay, Aklan last Monday.

Police Regional Office 6 acting director Chief Superintendent Jose Gentiles and Aklan acting provincial director Senior Superintendent John Mitchell Jamili went to the actual scene of the crime to supervise the investigation being conducted by members of the task force.

The task force, created to conduct in-depth investigation for the possible identification and arrest of the gunman and filing of the necessary charges, is integrating all efforts being done by investigators from different units.

It is composed of Senior Supt Alfredo Valdez, Deputy Regional Director for Operations as SITG Supervisor; Jamili as SITG Commander; PCInsp Ray Cuanico, OIC, CIDT Aklan as Asst. Commander; SPO1 Nida Gregas, PIO, Aklan as Spokesperson; PCInsp Dennis Gabihan, PCinsp Bernard Ufano, C, PIB, Aklan PPO, PSupt Ulyssis Ortiz, C, Aklan Provincial Crime Lab, SPO2 Noel Monares, Team Leader, APSC, PSupt Ariel Galeno, C, PIDMB, Aklan PPO as members and SPO1 Jaime Nerviol Jr., as investigator on case.

Gentiles said the reenactment started 10 a.m. and ended around 11:40 am.

Meriam shot first

He said the reenactment established that the incident happened at 1:15 a.m. Monday and the lone gunman used a caliber 45 pistol.

“Meriam was shot first with apparent fatal result; Melvin was able to run a few steps but was hit by the succeeding fire, fell down and crawled a few feet across the covered walkway before losing consciousness,” Gentiles said in an updated message to reporters.

He said the gunman’s pistol jammed as indicated by an ejected live round and magazine recovered at the crime scene.

He said that responding personnel were from Aklan PPSC who were at the time conducting a checkpoint near vital installations such as the Caticlan jetty port.

“Responders arrived within five minutes after receiving the call. Two responders carried the immobile body of Meriam and loaded her into a passenger cab; two other responders assisted by an unidentified male person carried the unconscious Melvin and placed him on the left rear seat of the PPSC covered pick-up,” he said.

He said the rest of the responders conducted paneling of the port to include the 2Go MV St Padua in search of the suspect/s.

Gentiles said the victims were brought to the Malay Municipal Hospital in Barangay Motag located around 4 km from the crime scene but had to pass by the Malay Police Station located 2.5 km onwards to ask for a guide.

“Reportedly, the duty attending doctor, Dra Michel Dipakakibo, did not make any effort to move the bodies from the vehicle apparently recognizing their lifeless condition upon their arrival; the funeral parlor employees moved the bodies at around 3:30 a.m. into separate vehicles,” he said.

He said they also found out that the crime scene was well lit when the incident happened and that no available CCTV camera was installed to record the incident. He said only one camera each was installed at the main entrance and exit.

“The duty guard was several meters ahead of the victims but sought cover and did not see the incident as soon as the successive gunfire were heard,” he said.

Gentiles said that as of 1 p.m. August 31, no witness has come forward to narrate how the shooting happened.

Handcuffed?

Meanwhile, Jamili denied accusations that the police officers who first responded to the shooting of couple handcuffed Melvin.

Jamili said the responding policemen did not know the identity of the victims at first. He said the policemen learned about the victims' identities at the hospital.

He explained that the Odictas were victims in the incident and the natural reaction of the police upon arrival at the crime scene was to bring the couple to the hospital, to possibly save their lives.

“The responding [policemen] cannot pronounce any medical status of the victims but only the attending physician. Likewise we are not tolerating any mischief or wrongdoings of our fellow police officers,” Jamili added.

Gentiles said the responding policemen only knew of the identity of the victims when they retired to their headquarters in Kalibo around 6 a.m. and when they monitored the local radio broadcast. On the other hand, the Malay police learned the identity of the Odictas around 2:30 a.m. when the relatives arrived at the hospital to claim the bodies.

The couple, residents of Iloilo City, surrendered to Interior and Local Government Secretary Mike Sueno on Thursday last week after receiving death threats. The two were linked to an Iloilo-based drug lord named only as Dragon.

Gentiles earlier said that one of the possible motives in the killing was the alleged disclosure of the list of drug personalities in the region to Sueno.

Sueno, however, denied that the couple gave him a drug list or matrix. — ALG/RSJ, GMA News