Friday, April 04, 2008 Court drops case vs. cops for lack of proof
THE lack of eyewitnesses and failure by the prosecution to establish conspiracy in the shooting to death of a suspected drug pusher in Camotes Island four years ago resulted in the dismissal of the case against six policemen.
The policemen, one of whom died already, were ordered released by Regional Trial Court Branch 25 Judge Edito Enemecio in his seven-page decision issued last March 24.
The policemen filed a demurrer to evidence, which asked the judge to rule based on the weight of the evidence from the prosecution.
The court said the witnesses failed to identify all the accused, and “could not even identify as to who actually engaged Remegio Arias in a shootout.”
The prosecution presented a copy of the police blotter as proof of the identities of the policemen who shot Arias.
Not enough
But the court said “the contents of the police blotter are not enough evidence to establish the identity of the accused and convict them.”
“Police blotter entries…do not constitute conclusive proof on the identities of the assailants,” it said.
“There was actually no eyewitness presented, there was no positive identification of all the accused being charged before this Honorable Court, and conspiracy was never established,” it added.
Arias was killed by a team led by SPO1 Valentino Guevarra after allegedly escaping from the policemen who were about to arrest him last July 10, 2004.
Arias’ family sought the help of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) 7 and sued Guevarra; PO3 Tiburcio Heramil; and PO2s Reynaldo Solante, Epifanio Gonzaga, Rodrigo Ungria, and Ernesto Hobrero.
PO3 Roland Pugoy accidentally shot Ungria in 2006 when a person they tried to arrest grappled for Ungria’s gun and crashed into him, causing his 5.56 M-4 carbine rifle to fire.
Relieved
The Ombudsman for the Military followed the findings of the NBI 7 and recommended the filing of murder charges against the Provincial Intelligence and Investigation Branch (PIIB) policemen.
The court, though, said that “there was no showing as to what were the exact participation of each and every accused before, during, and after the shootout which resulted to the death of Arias.”
PO3 Tiburcio Heramil, one of the policemen, said he was relieved that the court ruled in their favor, and looked forward to again joining operations against lawless elements.
The court also said the prosecution failed to establish who really shot Arias, because although the M16 rifle used was issued to Solante, anybody could have used the high-powered gun.
“The court is not convinced of the theory of conspiracy…. Conspiracy must be established not by conjectures but by positive and conclusive evidence,” read the ruling. (RHM)
