PLAIN STRAFING OR ATTEMPTED JAILBREAK? 2 CAUGHT FIRING AT CITY JAIL

Talisay City Jail personnel fire back, wounded suspects; police to check if suspects had to do with other strafing incidents in the jail

Police arrested two men yesterday after they allegedly fired at the front gate of the Talisay City Jail before daybreak. Both Arjan Bacus, 22, and Joseph Troy Briones, 19, ended up in a public hospital where they were treated for gunshot wounds. Supt. Gil Inopia, Talisay City Jail warden, said that two of his officers saw the two men approach on a red motorcycle. Cebu Provincial Police Office Director Edgar Alan Okubo has ordered an investigation to identify who planned and ordered the attack. It was the fourth time that motorcycle-riding men fired at the Talisay city Jail in Barangay Maghaway. Bacus was released from the facility this year, two years after being detained for alleged possession of an illegal firearm. Investigators, Okubo said, will determine if the strafing incidents have to do with any of the inmates.

Two men are under police custody after they allegedly strafed the front gate of the Talisay City Jail yesterday dawn.

This was the fourth time that the city’s jail facility in Barangay Maghaway was strafed by motorcycle-riding men.

Suspects Arjan Bacus, 22, and Joseph Troy Briones, 19, weren’t able to flee after on-duty jail personnel fired back at them.

The suspects, who sustained gunshot wounds, were brought to a public hospital in Cebu City where they are monitored not just by doctors but by policemen as well.

Supt. Gil Inopia, Talisay City Jail warden, told reporters that the incident occurred at 1:58 a.m. yesterday.

Inopia said two of his personnel assigned at the front gate saw the two suspects on board a red motorcycle.

The two men were riding from Barangay Linao and were about to proceed to Barangay Maghaway when they decided to turn back.

At that moment, Inopia’s personnel started to become suspi- cious and prepared their firearms.

As the two were driving toward the jail, one of them pulled out a pistol and fired at the gate. Jail personnel returned fire.

When they got hit, the suspects were forced to disembark from their motorcycle and fled on foot.

The motorcycle, a high-powered firearm, a slipper and a cellular phone were recovered and turned over to the local police.

Cebu Provincial Police Office Director Edgar Alan Okubo has ordered an investigation to identify the mastermind behind the attack on the city Jail.

He said the four strafing incidents in the Bureau of Jail Man- agement and Penology (BJMP) facility in Barangay Maghaway were possibly perpetrated by one group.

“It seems they are mad. One motive is that they are angry at BJMP and PNP,” Okubo said.

The group possibly has members who were arrested and jailed.

Investigators, Okubo said, will determine if the strafing incidents have anything to do with inmates who were arrested for drug trafficking.

During a follow-up operation, operatives of the Talisay City Police Station were able to trace the whereabouts of the two suspects.

Inopia said Bacus was previously detained in their facility in 2015 for illegal firearms possession and was released early this year.

Inopia said they will file a case against the two suspects next week.

SPO4 Yvonne Illustrisimo of the Talisay City Police Station said they also want to determine if the two suspects were the same persons who strafed the jail before. /