2 ‘gay’ men face murder charges for New Year shooting of teener

The two allegedly gay men who had started the brawl that led to the fatal shooting of a teenager in front of the Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center on New Year’s night surrendered to authorities early morning on Saturday.

An hour after midnight on Saturday, no less than Vice Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso brought to the Manila Police District Homicide section McEnrie Riomales, 20, and Jermin Luna, 15, both of Quiricada St., Sta. Cruz, Manila, wanted for the killing of Fernando Mendoza, 17, of Barrio Obrero, Tondo, on the early hours of Jan. 1.

The two suspects will be facing murder complaints along with two others previously arrested, said case investigator Police Officer 2 Bernardo Cayabyab of the MPD Homicide section.

Riomales and Luna opted to remain silent on the allegations, but they were positively identified by Mendoza’s companions on that fateful day.

At around 2 a.m. on Jan. 1, Mendoza and five other teenagers got into a fight with Riomales and Luna inside a jeepney on Rizal Avenue, when the gay men had slapped Mendoza after mistaking him as the smart aleck who had commented “Bawal ang bakla dito (Gay men aren’t allowed here)!” when they boarded the vehicle.

The jeepney driver ordered all of them to get out at the front gates of the JRMMC at the corner of Rizal Avenue and San Lazaro St. in Sta. Cruz district, where the parties continued their brawl and where Luna called for backup nearby.

Luna had brought into the fight Robert Palacio, 36, a messenger; Danilo Riomales, 43, a painter, and Jacinto Dante, 32, a tricycle driver, all fellow residents of Quiricada St., who started to maul the teenagers.

Based from a TV footage of the incident, it was Dante who had fired a homemade gun at Mendoza, killing him with a lone shot to the chest.

Only Dante and Palacio were inquested for the murder at the city prosecutor’s office on Jan. 2. There was not enough evidence  to link the elder Riomales to the killing, Cayabyab said.

But “the action of [Luna] who called for reinforcement from the other suspects in mauling and shooting to death the victim constitutes conspiracy,” Cayabyab said in his report.

Domagoso told police that Riomales and Luna had earlier voluntarily surrendered to him and Barangay 334, Zone 33 chair Roselle Castañeda.

All four suspects are currently detained at the MPD jail.

Riomales and Luna will face inquest proceedings “as soon as possible,” Cayabyab said.