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Thursday, February 24, 2005
Court suspects extortion, drops drugs charge
Convinced that the packet of shabu used as evidence against a suspected drug dealer could either be planted or illegally seized, the court yesterday acquitted a woman who is allegedly a known pusher in Cebu City’s downtown area.
Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 13 Judge Meinrado Paredes cleared Alicia C. Estoque, who was charged with possessing a packet of shabu last Dec. 23, 2003.
In an eight-page decision, Paredes said there was a reason for him to believe that PO3 Jaime Otadoy extorted money from Estoque during the incident.
“The testimony of PO3 Otadoy is inconsistent with the joint-affidavit he executed. The buy-bust was unusual. The buy-bust money and serial numbers were not entered in the logbook. They were recorded in the police blotter only after the alleged buy-bust. It was PO3 Otadoy, who claimed to have no knowledge about the buy-bust, who entered the incident in the police blotter,” the ruling read.
The police earlier alleged that they arrested Estoque during a buy-bust and seized a packet of shabu and two P100 bills from her.
They said the buy-bust happened about seven to 10 meters away from the house of the accused.
In her defense, Estoque said that while she was sleeping in her residence, she heard several knocks at the door at 2:43 a.m.
When she opened the door, she was choked by a person, whom she later knew as among the prosecution witnesses.
Estoque, who also has pending drug cases in RTC Branches 10 and 15, said Otadoy asked for P50,000 for the settlement of the case, but she told the policeman that she is no longer selling drugs.
In his decision, Paredes said he is skeptical with the prosecution’s version of the incident.
“The court seriously doubts the version of the prosecution that the accused was caught in possession of the shabu mentioned in the information in a buy-bust operation. This can be gleaned from the material inconsistencies and contradiction of the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses,” the ruling read. (GN)
(February 24, 2005 issue)
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