‘Web of murders haunts carjack ring’

MANILA, Philippines - A complainant, a star witness and now, a trial court judge.

In a span of four years, at least three people who had something to do with some of the criminal cases filed against the alleged leaders of a notorious carjack syndicate have been killed.

Arsenio Evangelista, now the spokesman of anti-crime organization Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, said the killings are a cause for concern that already needs immediate action from authorities.

Arsenio is the father of Venson Evangelista, who was among the victims of the Dominguez carjack group and whose charred body was found in Nueva Ecija on Jan. 14, 2011.

So far, he said, they only know of one high-profile case that Regional Trial Court Judge Wilfredo Nieves had handled: a carjacking case against Raymond Dominguez, one of the alleged leaders of the carjack syndicate that operated in Metro Manila and Central Luzon in the past decade.

Judge Nieves became the latest victim after he was ambushed at an intersection in the Barangay Tikay portion of the MacArthur Highway Wednesday.

Malacañang, the Supreme Court and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) have described the attack as cowardly.

Joe dela Rama Jr., IBP-Central Luzon governor, said “extrajudicial killings have no place in a civilized democratic country” as he urged authorities to work at eradicating this kind of crime.

Malolos City Police head Supt. Arwin Tadeo confirmed that the CCTV footage they have at hand showed that no one actually alighted from their vehicles when Nieves was attacked.

He also said that a concerned citizen raised the reward money to P3.5 million for anyone who could shed light on the judge’s killing and identify the assailants.

Vice President Jejomar Binay paid his respects to the slain judge yesterday and called for swift justice.

“I condemn this killing in the strongest possible terms. Judge Nieves was a committed public servant and an inspiration to those working in the judicial system. I expect our authorities to leave no stone unturned in making sure that the perpetrators are caught and brought to justice,” said Binay, a former human rights lawyer.

Evangelista said the judge handled the car theft complaint filed by Dante Escoto, who lost a Toyota Fortuner on Jan. 14, 2010 in Marilao, Bulacan, against the leaders of the Dominguez group.

In April 2012, Nieves convicted Raymond Dominguez and sentenced him to up to 30 years imprisonment.

Although Evangelista admitted that proof is needed before it can be concluded that the ambush on Nieves is connected to the decision, he stressed that the incident looked familiar.

“It fits a pattern,” he told The STAR. “He’s not the first person connected with the group who was killed.”

Rojas, Mendiola slays

Twice in 2012, the same year Nieves handed down the verdict on Raymond, two other people connected to cases filed against the group were brutally murdered.

On Jan. 26 that year, businesswoman Cristina Bruan Rojas was shot dead inside a passenger jeep following a hearing on a carjack case that she filed against Dominguez.

No one was arrested for the killing.

A few months later, on May 6, the body of state witness Alfred Mendiola was found dead with two others in Cavite province.

Mendiola, who was killed execution style, was a star witness to the murder charge against Raymond in relation to the 2011 killing of Venson Evangelista.

A confessed member of the Dominguez carjack syndicate, Mendiola accused Raymond and his brother Roger of having masterminded the brutal murder.

Although Mendiola was placed under the Department of Justice Witness Protection Program, he was killed after escaping from the secure compound.

For his death and that of his companions, Ryan Dominguez – youngest brother of Raymond and Roger – was charged. His case remains pending at a Regional Trial Court in Cavite.

The elder Dominguezes also remain on detention as they face several charges, including the one for Venson’s murder, before the Quezon City trial court. – With Ramon Efren Lazaro, Ric Sapnu, Helen Flores