Tuesday, August 03, 2004 3 convicted for slay of Baron Cervantes
MANILA -- Three men tagged in the killing of former Army captain Baron Cervantes, spokesman of the rightist group Young Officers Union (YOU), were slapped with a jail term by a Las Piņas City court Monday.
The gunman, identified as Joseph Mostrales, who is a former Marine sergeant and a bodyguard of deposed president Joseph Estrada, was sentenced to life imprisonment for the killing of Cervantes on December 31, 2001.
Mostrales's two accomplices, Jaime Centeno and Erlindo Torres, were sentenced to eight to 14 years in prison.
Judge Bonifacio Maceda of Las Piņas Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 275 found sufficient evidence to convict the three accused for killing Cervantes.
Maceda gave weight to the testimony of witnesses who said Mostrales was the one who shot the victim at close range outside a convenience store situated in Times Street in Las Piņas City.
The promulgation of the case was held at the session hall of National Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City.
The two alleged masterminds in the killing, retired Police Superintendent Rafael Cardeno and Sonny Camacho, remain at large after police investigators failed to implicate them in the case due to lack of evidence.
Prior to his killing, Cervantes figured in a row with Cardeno and some retired police and military officials belonging to the Revolutionary Armed Movement (RAM) after he revealed that the military fraternity was planning to destabilize the Arroyo government. JFF
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