ILOILO City – A man was found guilty of homicide for shooting to death a medical technology graduate at Smallville entertainment complex in Mandurriao district on Dec. 3, 2017.
Vanlen Jyru Joseph Hulleza of Barangay Sambag, Jaro district was sentenced to a maximum of 14 years in prison yesterday for killing Rey Myr Tan, 24, of Lawa-an Village, Jaro.
Judge Gloria Madero of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 29 also ordered Hulleza to pay the heirs of Tan P75,000 as civil indemnity, P75,000 as moral damages and P209,974.06 as actual damages.
Atty. Alfredo Arungayan III, legal counsel of Tan’s family, said three witnesses positively identified Hulleza as the assailant.
“Ang iya depensa denial kag sala kuno or mistaken identity. Pero indi mabaton sang husgado ang pagpanginwala ‘ya tungod nga may nakakita gid. Wala sang motibo nga magbinutig ang tatlo ka mga eye witnesses,” added Arungayan.
The Tan family welcomed the court’s verdict. The victim’s mother, Myrnalyn, was overcome with emotion.
“Nabatyagan kag nadumdoman ya gid ang kasakit nga nadulaan sia sang bata,” said Arungayan.
After the case promulgation yesterday morning, Hulleza was brought to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) Male Dormitory in Barangay Ungka, Jaro district.
“Puede sila makadangop sa Court of Appeals. Depende ina sa akusado kon masaka sila ukon indi,” Arungayan said.
THE SMALLVILLE SHOOTING
It was around 5:35 a.m. on Dec. 3, 2017 when 22-year-old Tan was shot on San Jose Street at Smallville. He was taken to the Iloilo Doctors’ Hospital where he expired.
Prior to the shooting, an argument ensued between Hulleza, then 22 years old, and Tan at Prism bar, police investigation showed. They were with separate groups of friends at the time, police said.
Tan and his friends were walking home but Hulleza and company followed them. Hulleza threw a bottle to catch Tan’s attention, and then gunshots were heard, said the police, citing witnesses’ accounts.
Tan sustained multiple gunshot wounds on the body but his fatal hit was on the head, police said.
Officers reviewed a security camera footage showing the vehicle the suspect used to escape – a white Suzuki Jimny.
Their suspicion that the modified vehicle – they said the wheels were replaced with bigger ones – was at a car show in Mandurriao allowed them to trace the vehicle to Sambag, Jaro./PN
