Suspect in carpenter’s slay surfaces to clear name

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

BACOLOD City – A man tagged in the killing of a carpenter in Barangay Vista Alegre here on Sunday surfaced at Police Station 7 Tuesday to clear his name of the allegations against him.

Police Captain Elmer Bonilla, head of Police Station 7, said that Darryl Daza denied the accusations against him, claiming that he was not in the area when the shooting happened.

But Bonilla said witnesses identified Daza as the one who allegedly shot Edgar John Mendoza, 36, of the said village while he was working outside a house.

Mendoza succumbed to two gunshot wounds in the chest and stomach.

Police earlier eyed grudges as possible motive behind the killing, since the two had a previous misunderstanding.

In a media interview, Daza said he did not kill Mendoza.

The suspect said he can provide a witness to confirm his statement, adding that he was drinking with some individuals when he was surprised to hear that Mendoza was shot that day.

“Gatambay lang ko to ya sa amon, tapos nahagaran inom, nakibot na lang ko natiruhan na siya (Mendoza) ya. Wala ko na ya nagpatay sa iya,” Daza said, adding that he is willing to face the charges that will be filed against him.

“Kung paminsaron, ako ya ang nahuy-an, pero kung kasuhan man ko nila, atubangon ko na ya,” Daza said.

Despite Daza’s appearance at the police station, Bonilla said that murder charges will still be filed against him on regular filing.

“Wala na siya gin custody kay nag lapse na abi ang pursuit operation ta,” he added.

Bonilla said that Daza had previous cases, including theft. In fact, he was released from jail recently.