NBI tags camera operator in suspect’s fatal mauling

After more than a month of investigation, a former security camera operator was charged with the fatal mauling of suspected shoplifter Mario Alfie Ducayag at the security office of the Gaisano Metro Colon department store last April 12.

In a complaint filed before the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office yesterday, the National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-7) tagged Jeffrey Aquino as having singlehandedly mauled Ducayag to death.

But former chief security officer Mauricio Doblados Jr. and former confidential intelligence officer Melvin Boyles were also charged with murder.

Doblados also faced a separate charge of obstruction of justice after he allegedly misled law enforcers into believing that Ducayag was caught trying to sneak out an unpaid pair of sandals.

The NBI included testimonies of witnesses and photos of the events captured by the closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras of Metro Gaisano Colon.

“We made sure that all our evidence are strong. We’re hoping for a conviction here,” said NBI-7 Agent Bernard dela Cruz who was assigned to conduct the probe on Ducayag’s death.

The charges filed against the three respondents will undergo a preliminary investigation by a handling prosecutor. The respondents, who are all at large, will be given a chance to submit their counter-affidavits.

If the prosecutors find probable cause against them, charges will be elevated before the Regional Trial Court. Otherwise, the case will be dismissed.

Ducayag’s mother Fe Soledad was grateful that a case was finally filed against the persons purportedly responsible for her son’s death.

Fe Soledad and her daughter Marie Shantylle accompanied the NBI in filing the complaint yesterday morning.

She said the civil charges they intend to file against Gaisano Metro Colon will follow.

Cerwin Eviota, spokesperson of Gaisano Metro, welcomed the filing of the charges against the suspects in the brutal death of Ducayag inside the department store.

“On the matter if the the victim had shoplifted, we stand by our position that it was committed based on material and testimonial evidences,” Eviota said.

But based on the NBI-7’s investigation, Ducayag was innocent of shoplifting.

NBI Regional Director Antonio Pagatpat said Ducayag personally went to Cashier 7 to look for the receipt of the pair of sandals which he supposedly bought.

“The unlawful act of handcuffing Ducayag did not only weaken his ability to defend, but it entirely rendered him defenseless from his assailants,” Pagatpat said.