Von Ace Cristo
  • Sex: Male
  • Age: 37
  • Occupation: tricycle driver
Incident Details
  • Killed by unknown assailants in public
  • Date of Incident: December 21, 2017
  • Time of Incident: 12:00 am
  • Location of Incident: , Manila
Source(s)

P75,000 worth of illegal drugs seized from 3 men

An estimated P75,000 worth of illegal drugs were seized from three men, including two brothers, during a joint drug sting operation in Barangay Payatas B, Quezon City Thursday.

Quezon City Police District director Chief Superintendent Guillermo Eleazar identified the three alleged drug personalities as brothers 30-year-old Mark Anthony and Mark John Zafra, and Ariel Agustin, 35, all residents of Barangay Payatas B.

Members of the QCPD Drug Enforcement Unit led by Chief Inspector Ferdinand Mendoza, with operatives from Special Reaction Unit, Batasan Police Station (PS-6), and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency conducted the raid after a QC court issued a search warrant against the three for their illegal activities.

Police said that a concerned citizen tipped them about the three men’s involvement in illegal drugs resulting in the implementation of the warrant.

Joint authorities carried out the operation at around 4:45 p.m. on the suspects’ residence on Ipil-ipil Street in Barangay Payatas B.

Upon reaching the said place, Mendoza said that various drug paraphernalia were seen all around the house suggesting that a session happened inside.

Police seized from their possession 35 sachets of shabu weighing about 15 grams with an estimated street value of P75,000, assorted drug paraphernalia, a pistol barrel and live ammunition of different calibers, leading to their arrest.

Arrested drug personalities are detained at the QCPD Headquarters and are facing drug-related charges and illegal possession of firearms for the recovered pieces of ammunition. (Alexandria Dennise San Juan)

Former barangay councilman gunned down

A former barangay councilman was gunned down by one of four motorcycle-riding suspects while manning his business in Caloocan City Thursday.

Police Officer 1 Niño Paguirigan, investigator on the case, identified the former barangay councilman as Melvin Casipit, 53, businessman, of Balubaran, Valenzuela City. He died on the spot due to two gunshot wounds in the head.

In a closed-circuit television footage, Casipit was seen manning his coffee-vending-machine business on 2nd Avenue near Barangay 120 hall, when four gunmen appeared and one of them shot Casipit around 1:21 p.m., police said.

“He sometimes go to the place to visit his best friend who happened to be his business partner,” Paguirigan told the Manila Bulletin.

Patricio Monag, 58, said the gunman was medium in built, 5 feet in height, wearing a yellow jacket and a red cap.

Monag told investigator that the gunman shouted to Casipit: “Sige, sumigaw ka! (Go, you shout!),” before shooting him.

Other witnesses said the four gunmen then sped off onboard four motorcycles driven by their cohorts.

Relatives of Casipit said he was a good man. He was also not included in the drug watchlist, police said.

Authorities are now looking into an old grudge as the possible motive behind the killing.

“He filed serious physical injury charges against a certain person before,” Pagurigan said. (Kate Louise B. Javier)

Ex-drug user shot dead by 3 unknown suspects

A former drug user who was about to eat dinner was shot dead by three still unidentified suspects in Sta. Cruz, Manila last night.

Manila Police District (MPD) Station 3 chief Police Supt. Arnold Thomas Ibay identified the fatality as Von Ace Cristo, 37, tricycle driver, and resident of Felix Huertas Street.

Ibay said Cristo was preparing to eat inside a parked jeepney on Lope de Vega Street in Barangay 311 Zone 31 at 10:50 p.m. when the three suspects approached him and shot him in the different parts of the body.

The suspects then escaped using their parked motorcycle toward an undisclosed direction.

Cristo was rushed to Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center by his brother but he succumbed to his gunshot wound in the head, shoulder, chest, body and abdomen.

Three empty shells of still unknown gun were found from the crime scene.

Meanwhile, relatives of the victim admitted that he was a former drug user.

Police are still conducting an investigation to determine the motive of the killing. (Jaimie Rose R. Aberia)

Woman nabbed for allegedly shoplifting 72 t-shirts

A woman was nabbed after allegedly shoplifting at least 72 t-shirts worth around P13,000 inside a mall in Caloocan City Thursday.

Police Officer 1 Benjie Nalogoc, investigator on the case, identified the woman as Mylene Dela Cruz, 39, jobless, of Barangay Bagong Barrio, Caloocan City.

Wenilyn Cainer, store owner inside Victory Mall in Monumento, told police that she was conducting an inventory at 3 p.m. when she noticed that 67 t-shirts were missing.

Upon checking the closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage in her store, Cainer reportedly saw at least four persons getting the t-shirts and putting it inside a plastic bag.

Around 5 p.m. on the same day, Dela Cruz went back in the store where she allegedly stole five t-shirts again.

Cainer then asked the assistance of the security officers to arrest Dela Cruz.

A charge of theft will be filed against Dela Cruz who is now detained at the Caloocan police detention cell. (Kate Louise B. Javier)

2 employees arrested for theft in separate incidents in Manila

Two employees were arrested after they were indicted on theft charges during separate incidents in Sta. Ana, Manila from Thursday afternoon to evening.

Investigators identified the suspects as Charlie Tapia, 41, sales personnel of Mobinfinity Distribution, and a resident of San Juan City; and Carlo Lopez, 23, maintenance employee of Watsons Family Health and Beauty Corp., and a resident of Santiago St. Paco, Manila.

According to a report from Sta. Ana Police Station, Tapia failed to remit P63,890 from his collection money to his company located on Old Panaderos Street.

Tapia’s act was learned after his company conducted an audit, investigators said.
Lopez, meanwhile, was arrested after a cosmetic product worth P199 was found inside his black backpack.

Investigators said Lopez was about to leave the company premises located on New Panaderos Street around 11:30 p.m., when his bag was inspected by the security guard.

The suspects were immediately brought to the police station while charges of theft are now being readied against them before the City Prosecutor’s Office. (Analou de Vera)