By Glazyl Y. Masculino
BACOLOD City – Homicide charges were filed on Thursday before the City Prosecutor’s Office against a bank accountant following the death of a soldier in a restobar shooting at Barangay Singcang-Airport here last Wednesday.
Police Major Joery Puerto, head of Police Station 8, said the criminal complaint was filed against Ulysis Carampatana, 41, of Barangay Taculing here.
The case stemmed from an altercation that led to a shootout that killed Private First Class (PFC) Edmark Iwayan, 26, of Escalante City, Negros Occidental.
Iwayan and Carampatana got into an argument after the latter allegedly refused to leave the place when restobar owner and former soldier Joebert Visem announced that the bar will be closing already.
Aside from the homicide case, Puerto said that Carampatana may also face additional charges for frustrated homicide. This, after Visem was wounded when Carampatana allegedly shot him in the leg while the former was trying to hide at the back of the restobar.
Puerto said that police submitted a supplemental affidavit and other necessary documents for the frustrated homicide case.
Meanwhile, Puerto said that Iwayan’s colleague PFC Joebert Villagracia and one of the three companions of Carampatana, who surfaced at the police station last Thursday, had reached a settlement.
Villagracia was hit by a hard object in the head causing him to lose consciousness during the commotion.
Puerto said Villagracia wanted to focus on Iwayan’s case to give justice to his colleague. The two soldiers went here to get their bonus when they decided to visit Visem at his place where they had a drinking session.
Puerto said the three persons who surfaced last Thursday were not included in the homicide case, despite being with Carampatana’s group, as they have no participation in the shooting incident.
These persons gave their statements which corroborated with the statement of their companion, 45-year-old Joseph John Magahum, who was also wounded in the shooting by a stray bullet, Puerto said.
However, Puerto said that the two other companions of Carampatana, who are still at large, are being urged to surrender, as they may have Carampatana’s .9mm-caliber firearm used in the incident.
Puerto said they sought the help of the family to help them negotiate with these two persons to surrender so that they could also give their statements.
Carampatana is still under hospital arrest.
“Once he will be discharged from the hospital, he will be taken to the custodial facility of Police Station 8,” Puerto said.
