Finding the defense of the accused weak, the Regional Trial Court yesterday sent a taxi driver to jail for selling marijuana.
Police arrested Danilo Baylon during a buy-bust operation dawn of August 22, 2005. Seized from him were three sticks of marijuana. Judge Gabriel Ingles sentenced Baylon to life imprisonment.
In his decision, Ingles said Baylon's defense of improper motive on the part of the policemen was weak as it was uncorroborated even by the testimony of his wife.
Baylon had told the court that SPO1 Elmo Rosales, the leader of the arresting team, had a grudge against him when he refused to heed a favor in a cockfight. Baylon said that aside from being a taxi driver, he sidelined as a masyador or cockfight bet taker at the Mandaue City Coliseum and that the day before his arrest, Rosales and PO2 Julius Regis allegedly asked him to be their bet taker.
During his arrest, he was allegedly mauled at the police station and Rosales even allegedly demanded P30,000 from him and took from him his wallet containing proceeds worth P3,000 from the fighting cocks he had sold. Baylon said he was very much surprised with the alleged arrest because he and the arresting officers were reportedly friends.
However, in the absence of any corroborative testimony, the court remained unconvinced.
"Thus, there is no proof other than the self-serving testimony of the accused that he knew Officer Regis. Further, even if it is true that he and Officer Rosales were friends, it was not shown that he saw Rosales at Kukuk's Nest where the buy-bust operation was conducted. He, in fact, declared that he only met Rosales at the Fuente Police station," the court said. - Joeberth M. Ocao/MEEV