US Marine tagged in Pinay transgender slay named, faces murder raps

From GMA News (Oct 14): US Marine tagged in Pinay transgender slay named, faces murder raps

Philippine authorities on Tuesday identified the US serviceman tagged in the killing of a transgender woman in Olongapo City over the weekend.
In a memorandum, the Philippine National Police (PNP) identified the suspect as Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton of the US Marine Corps 2nd Battalion 9th Marines.

Pemberton was positively identified by witness Mark Clarence Gelviro through a photo line-up process, the PNP memorandum said.

It added that a murder case is being prepared against the suspect.

Pemberton is being linked to the killing of 26-year-old Jeffrey Laude inside a motel in Olongapo City on Saturday night.

"Considering na identified siya and all the facts [are] sufficient, necessary charges will be filed against him. And let the court decide kung ano man ang appreciation sa evidence na makukuha," said Olongapo City mayor Rolen Paulino at a press briefing in Olongapo.

Paulino said the local police is working with the US Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) on the case. He said it was the police who provided the photo used to identify the suspect.

Earlier, the US Embassy in Manila confirmed that the serviceman, whom it did not identify, is now being held on board the USS Peleliu, one of the vessels that joined the 2014 Amphibious Landing Exercises (PHIBLEX) in Subic in Zambales earlier this month.

On Monday, Visiting Forces Agreement Commission Executive Director Eduardo Oban Jr. said US Pacific commander Admiral Samuel Locklear III has already ordered US ships in the country to stay in the Philippines until investigation on the incident is done.

The embassy also vowed to cooperate with Philippine authorities "in every aspect of the investigation."

Under the VFA, the Philippines has jurisdiction over the case, but the US has custody of the American personnel who will face charges.

On Monday, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said the Philippines can request for the custody of American soldiers believed to be involved in heinous crimes.

Laude, who used the name Jennifer, was found dead in an inn in Olongapo City on Saturday, hours after the victim was last seen with a foreigner.

The incident happened months after the Philippines and the US signed a new military pact that will expand the presence and role of American soldiers in the country.

Pemberton is the second US soldier to be involved in a criminal act in the country since 2005, when Lance Corporal Daniel Smith was charged and later on convicted for the rape of a Filipino woman.

The rape case, which sparked a diplomatic row between Manila and Washington, was dismissed after the victim reversed her testimony.

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/383478/news/nation/us-marine-tagged-in-pinay-transgender-slay-named-faces-murder-raps