A court in Quezon City has convicted three men for carnapping and homicide in relation to the death of a car salesman in 2011.
QC Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 215 Judge Rafael Hipolito sentenced the suspects and members of Dominguez carnapping group identified as Roger Dominguez, Jason Miranda, and Rolando Talban to reclusion perpetua (40 years in prison) for the charges, according to an ABS-CBN News report on Wednesday, March 15..
The three were found guilty beyond reasonable doubt for their involvement in the death of Venson Evangelista, a car dealer, who disappeared on Jan. 13, 2011.
The report said that the victim was last seen alive in Cubao, Quezon City when one of the suspects went to his car shop to check one of his vehicles.
According to the Supreme Court E-Library (elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph), the victim’s body was found the following day in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija. The victim sustained a gunshot wound in the head and his body was mutilated and was set on fire.
It added that two individuals surrendered to the Philippine National Police and made and extrajudicial confession identifying Dominguez and his brother, Raymond Dominguez, as the masterminds of the killing. This led to the filing of the said charges against the suspects.
There were originally five suspects charged for the death of the victim, including one Joel Jacinto.
Raymond Dominguez died in 2021 due to Covid-19 while inside the New Bilibid Prison, while Jacinto suffered a heart attack while in jail in QC, the news report said.
The victim is the son of Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) President Boy Arsenio Evangelista.
The Domiguez camp will be filing a motion for reconsideration against the decision, the report said.
The VACC is a non-profit, non-government organization that envisions a crime-free and corruption-free Philippines.