SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union—Policemen here on Monday arrested the leader of a gun-for-hire group charged with double murder.
Superintendent Julius Suriben, the city police chief, identified the suspect as Lorenzo Mendoza who was arrested at around 8 p.m. inside his house in Barangay Camansi on the strength of a warrant of arrest issued by Judge Asuncion Mandia of the Regional Trial Court Branch 29 here.
Mendoza is the suspect in the killing of Dominique Pineda, a security guard, on Feb. 28, 2015 and a certain Eric Dioniso on Dec. 11, 2014. Both killings took place in this city.
“The suspect is the most wanted person in the city and leader of Mendoza gun-for-hire and robbery group operating in La Union and Pangasinan,” Suriben said.
Suriben reported to Mayor Pablo Ortega yesterday that seven criminal gangs engaged in robbery, gun-for-hire and illegal drugs in the province had been arrested in their five-day successive operation in line with the Oplan 1 Time, Big Time of SOP Lambat-Sibat.
Suriben said that six illegal drug pushers, including Jayvee del Rosario, the number one top drug personality in the city, were arrested by the composite team of policemen and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
Other arrested suspects are identified as John Leo Ordinario, Marden Ancheta, Jovito Tadifa, Mark Christopher Park, and Joseph Flores.
The arrests also resulted in the seizure of 20 sachets of shabu, a magnum 22 cal. revolver, ammunitions and drug paraphernalia.
Charges have been filed against the suspects who are now lodged in jail.