‘Reservist’ admits shooting vendor dead

A Manila resident shot an ambulant vendor dead for allegedly entering his sari-sari store without permission Tuesday morning.

When arrested by the police, 43-year-old Rony Belezario admitted shooting Rodolfo Barbosa Jr. but claimed that he lost his temper because the trespassing vendor had been pestering him for the past month. Barbosa, 37, again entered his store without permission and “annoyingly” asked him to buy the sunglasses that the vendor was selling, Belezario said.

The incident happened inside the suspect’s store on Adela Fuente Street in Sampaloc. “I am willing to pay for what I did,” Belezario told reporters while in detention at the Manila Police District headquarters. “I am a good man. You can ask my neighbors about me,” said the suspect, who also claimed to be an Army reservist.

SPO2 Charles John Duran, the case investigator, said Belezario yielded an unlicensed .25-cal. pistol when arrested four hours after the shooting. The victim, a resident of Sta. Mesa, Manila, died of a gunshot wound in the chest. Duran said Belezario would be charged with murder and was set for inquest proceedings on Tuesday.–Jodee A. Agoncillo