Alleged notorious criminal gets 23 years for shabu

The court yesterday sentenced to 23 years imprisonment a suspected notorious criminal for possession of shabu.

In his decision, Regional Trial Court Branch 58 Judge Gabriel Ingles said the prosecution had successfully proven in court that Dennis Tancinco possessed three packs of shabu upon his arrest for gun possession last year.

Operatives of the Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Branch rushed to sitio Sampaguita, barangay Tejero in the afternoon of March 5, 2006 following information that an armed man was engaged in a drug session in the area. 

However, they reportedly did not spot the man but instead arrested two persons for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act.

Moments later, their informant reportedly told them that the subject of the operation was playing bingo.

When they arrived in the area, the operatives said they saw Tancinco place his handgun beside the bingo machine and even attempted to conceal it when he noticed their presence.

They immediately placed him under arrest and had him handcuffed. When they subsequently frisked him, the operatives reportedly recovered the three packets of shabu from the right front pocket of Tancinco’s shorts.

In his defense, Tancinco wanted the court to believe that the police framed him up because he allegedly refused to testify against another notorious suspect, Joel Nodalo, after he was discharged to be a state witness.

However, Ingles said the defense’s evidence was uncorroborated or unsupported. Aside from this, Ingles said Tancinco’s character is “questionable” and between his testimony and those of the police officers, the latter would have more weight.

“The accused himself admitted that he was sent here by his grandparents, who reside in the U.S. and who adopted him after his parents died ‘to become good but it did not work.’ In other words, even his character is questionable…further, accused also said that he had undergone a drug rehabilitation here before,” Ingles said.

“The prosecution had established a prima facie case that herein accuse was arrested in flagrante delicto in possession of a firearm, which is the subject of another criminal action. Thus, his warrantless arrest is proper,” Ingles said.

Ingles said it is then plausible that the standard body search was conducted on the accused, rendering credible testimonies that the three packs of shabu were recovered from him.

“The evidence adduced by the defense is not enough to destroy the case established by the prosecution showing that the three packs of shabu were recovered from the herein accused in the course of a body search incidental to a warrantless arrest for committing the offense of illegal possession of firearm, in the presence of the arresting officers,” Ingles said. —  Joeberth M. Ocao/LPM