MANILA – The Quezon City police chief on Friday said they are preparing murder charges against two inmates who allegedly mauled to death Genesis “Tisoy” Argoncillo inside a detention cell.
QC police district director Chief Superintendent Joselito Esquivel said three witnesses have identified the suspects as Justin Mercado and Richard Bautista.
Mercado and Richard, both members of the Sputnik Gang, allegedly conspired with other detainees to maul Argoncillo, Esquivel added.
“The QCPD reiterates that it is conducting a thorough investigation on the death of Argoncillo. We will investigate everyone involved, including the police officers on duty, until the truth comes out, and then prosecute the guilty,” Esquivel said.
The witnesses claimed that Mercado and Richard have beaten up Argoncillo along with other detainees at around 10 p.m. on Monday after the victim allegedly stepped on them inside the cell.
The development came days after Esquivel claimed that Argoncillo may have died from suffocation inside the cell.
This is contrary to Argoncillo’s death certificate, which his relatives released on Thursday.
It indicated that victim died due to “multiple blunt force trauma to his neck, head, chest, and upper extremities.”
Argoncillo was arrested on Friday last week in Novaliches, Quezon City as part of the city’s anti-loitering campaign. He was not wearing a shirt while standing outside of a sari-sari store at the time.
Four days later, Argoncillo’s family found him dead in a morgue, swollen and allegedly bearing marks of beating./PN
