Old man seeks out, kills neighborhood toughie

A sexagenarian excused himself from work as an errand boy purportedly to run home and feed his pet dog on his lunch break but allegedly ended up seeking out and shooting to death on Friday afternoon an alleged neighborhood toughie in Manila.

Restituto Sabado, 60, who goes by the aliases  “Totel Arias,” and “Totet Pangilinan,” of Sta. Ana, fled after allegedly gunning down 25-year-old Bahala Na Gang member Renato Zonito, of Adriatico Street, Malate, and is the subject of a hunt by the Manila Police District (MPD).

SPO4 Richard Lumbad, of the MPD homicide section, told the Inquirer that Sabado had apparently planned the killing.

“He told his employer at an electronics repair shop in Malate that he had to go home to Sta. Ana so he could feed his dog.  When he was allowed to leave, he sought out Zonito instead,” Lumbad said.

Sabado found Zonito at around 1:25 p.m., Friday, watching a basketball game at the Barangay 704 Zone 77 covered court  behind San Andres Sports Complex on J. Bocobo and San Andres Streets in Malate.

Sabado allegedly drew a .38 caliber revolver, approached Zonito and repeatedly shot the toughie in the body before fleeing.

Zonito was rushed to the Ospital ng Maynila by bystanders but was declared dead on arrival by attending doctors there from three bullet wounds in the body.

Barangay officials told police that Zonito was previously charged with fencing and drug pushing before a Manila court but the charges against him were dismissed. They also claimed that residents in the area avoided Zonito because they feared him.

“We could not find any witness who could tell us exactly what happened even if the shooting happened in a crowded area,”  Lumbad told the Inquirer, adding that nobody would admit to witnessing the incident.  Most of them told police investigators that they were somewhere else.