Abandoned motorcycle leads cops to judge’s slay suspects

PAGADIAN CITY — A motorcycle abandoned in Barangay Maasin, Zamboanga City has led police investigators to the suspects in the ambush of Judge Joseph Wee Sit early on Thursday.

On Saturday afternoon, the police had filed criminal complaints against three suspects before the Zamboanga City Prosecutor’s Office.

Lt. Col. Shellamie Chang, spokesperson of the Police Regional Office 9 (PRO 9), said investigators were able to establish the identity of one suspect, who was the alleged gunman.

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Two others remain unidentified as of Saturday; one served as driver of the alleged gunman while the other drove a support getaway vehicle, Chang added.

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Chang said the filing of criminal complaints followed sustained case build-up by the Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) “Wee Sit,” backed by judicial affidavits alongside documentary and forensic evidence gathered by investigators.

Wee Sit was driving past 6 a.m. on Thursday to the Zamboanga City port to cross the sea to Isabela City, Basilan where he is presiding judge of Regional Trial Court Branch 2.

A motorcycle pulled up near his vehicle in Barangay Tumaga, opened fire and then fled.

Rescuers who responded to the scene first revived Wee Sit, who suffered six gunshot wounds, then rushed him to a local hospital where he later died.

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On Friday, SITG investigators spotted a white Yamaha NMAX motorcycle abandoned in Maasin, some 13 kilometers away from the crime scene in Tumaga where scene-of-the-crime operatives recovered eight fired cartridge cases of caliber .45 handgun.

Chang said probers were able to piece together information from closed-circuit television footage and eyewitness accounts to establish the relation of the abandoned vehicle to the ambush of Wee Sit.

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Investigators earlier said the perpetrators were two individuals riding a white Yamaha NMAX motorcycle, both wearing jackets and helmets.

Brig. Gen. Elmer Ragay, PRO 9 director, said the filing of criminal complaints demonstrates the police force’s commitment to pursuing justice through diligent, evidence-based investigation and close coordination among concerned units.

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Ragay directed investigators to continue pursuing all necessary leads to further strengthen the case and ensure the perpetrators are held accountable before the law. /ms