Suspected gunman in Solima slay arrested

CEBU CITY — Police arrested yesterday the suspected gunman in the killing of a lawyer and wounding of his wife in Barangay Guadalupe here last Monday night.

Ricarte del Corro was identified by a witness as the one who shot Salvador Solima, a former prosecutor, and his wife, Pastora, in the head inside their house in Singson Village here.

Del Corro was arrested in a buybust operation in Barangay Puntra Princesa before noon yesterday.

“We were looking for him and it so happened that he was arrested in a buy-bust operation,” said Supt. Ryan Devaras, chief of the Investigation Detection and Management Branch of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO).

Police also picked up brothers Alberto and Alvin Baluyos for questioning, and were considered “persons of interest.”

“We are validating the testimony of the witness that Alberto served as a lookout in the crime,” said Devaras, who added that they were also verifying reports that the lawyer received threats from Alberto over a land dispute.

Del Corro denied involvement in the killing.

“I do not know Solima and I have witnesses who can prove that I was not in Guadalupe when the crime happened,” Solima said in Cebuano.

It was past 4 p.m. Monday when two men arrived at the residence of the Solimas.

The two men posed as clients. They were told to wait for a few minutes before they were ushered to the second floor where the lawyer had an office.

A few minutes later, gunshots rang out.

The two men fled on a motorcycle while the couple was found bloodied upstairs.

The lawyer died at the hospital with gunshot wounds in the head and chest.

The wife remained in critical condition after sustaining a gunshot wound in the head.

Senior Supt. Royina Garma, chief of the CCPO, said there were some security cameras in the area, but footages caught during the attack were poor.

With the incident, Garma advised the public to take precautionary measures.

“We cannot secure everyone. We can deploy police in public places but that’s general. In our profession, we cannot please everyone, so we have to be security conscious. If you have some threats, report to the police so we can give guidance and address it,” said Garma.