Rich kids with guns behind Marikina City attack, probers say

Marikina River on a clear day is a favourite spot of city-dwellers who love to unwind. The midnight shooting incident in Barangay Marikina Heights that wounded the grandson of veteran comedian Willie Nepomucen allegedly involving suspects from the rich and influential neighbourhood of the said village put the once-peaceful city in a negative light. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/Marikina City website

The suspects in the Jan. 9 shooting in Marikina City that wounded the grandson of comedian Willie Nepomuceno and another teenager come from well-to-do families, according to a local police official.

Senior Insp. Eduardo Cayetano, chief of the Marikina police investigation section, noted that the first to be arrested, Mark Bercilla, was from an affluent neighborhood of lawyers, retired generals and businessmen in Barangay Marikina Heights.

A manhunt is ongoing for another suspect identified as Arestes Ronar, the alleged owner of the white Ford Fiesta (TIO-181) used as the getaway vehicle.

Cayetano described Ronar as someone who was also “may kaya” (rich) and had a brother who is a lawyer and a former barangay official.

Another police officer who declined to be identified said they had also received information that Ronar’s family owned a popular resort in the city.

Tightlipped

Bercilla, who faces charges of frustrated homicide, physical injuries and grave threats, confirmed Ronar’s participation in the shooting when shown a photo, but remained tightlipped on the identity of their two other cohorts, the officer said in an interview on Saturday.

Bercilla was arrested hours after the predawn attack that wounded Sean Gabriel Nepomuceno, 16, and Franc Rayven Jocson, 17, as they were eating at a burger stand in Marikina Heights on Thursday.

Their two teenage companions—Angello Abistado  and Sherwin Jerome Maralit—were unhurt. The four friends earlier spent time playing games at a nearby Internet shop before going out for a snack.

Mistaken identity

According to Cayetano, Ronar was also positively identified by Abistado as the driver of the getaway vehicle following the attack at the corner of Bayanbayanan Avenue and Bugallon Street.

Cayetano said the shooting was “indeed a case of mistaken identity,” citing reports that a brawl took place in the area minutes before Sean’s group arrived and was attacked.

Meanwhile, case investigator SPO1 Gemma Mirabueno said Sean remained in the recovery room of the Amang Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center as of Saturday.

The boy, she said, had given a brief statement recalling how he was hit thrice, with one bullet exiting through his stomach and another damaging his hip bone.

Sean also corroborated his friend’s statements that there were four attackers, all armed, and that they fired several rounds at him and his friends while they were eating. He was hit while running together with Abistado.