Shootout in Sipalay City top fugitive killed, two cops hurt

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — A most wanted fugitive, facing arrest warrant for murder charges, was killed, while two policemen were injured in a shootout Thursday at Sitio Indangawan in Barangay Manlocahoc of Sipalay City, Negros Occidental.

The Sipalay Police identified the slain wanted person as Emerson Antepaso Jr, who resisted arrest and fought it out when the policemen, backed up by the Regional Mobile Force Battalion 6-led by Police Officer 3 Joy Pabera–was about to serve the arrest warrant on him.

Antepaso fired his homemade shotgun, wounding Pabera and PO2 Armando Arsenal as a result. This prompted the policemen to return fire hitting the suspect, who was declared dead on arrival at the Sipalay City Hospital. The police were able to recover Antepaso's shotgun, loaded with 13 live bullets, from the scene.

Pabera was hit in the left side of his chest and is now in stable condition at a private hospital in Bacolod City, while Arsenal, whose injury was minor, is now back to duty at the Sipalay City Police Station.

Chief Inspector Romeo Vargas, former Sipalay City Police chief, described Antepaso as an "armed and dangerous" person, who was number one in the Sipalay Police's list of most-wanted fugitives.

Meanwhile, a man claiming to be SPO4 Michael James Vargas, was arrested Wednesday–at a school in Barangay Tangub of Bacolod City–by operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, through the Global Positioning System (GPS) of the vehicle he rented and allegedly failed to return.

Senior Police Officer 3 Ramiro Gocotano, field investigator of CIDG-Bacolod, said the suspect was arrested based on the complaint of Marielle Takamatsu, the owner of the vehicle. A certain Joseph Yanson also filed a complaint against the suspect for not paying him back the P170,000 the suspect owed.

Gocotano said the arrested suspect is a former confidential asset of CIDG, and identified himself as SPO4 Michael James Vargas, when making transactions.