Fiscals file raps vs Jaworski son’s driver

MANILA, Philippines - The Makati City prosecutor’s office has recommended that the driver of Ryan Jaworski, a son of former senator and basketball legend Robert Jaworski, be charged in court in connection with a shootout with police officers in Makati on Sept. 19.

In a four-page resolution dated Sept. 23, senior assistant city prosecutor Gaudencio Tolledo recommended the filing of four counts of attempted murder and two counts of physical injuries against Joselito Au. The case was raffled off yesterday to Regional Trial Court Branch 139 Judge Benjamin Pozon.

Tolledo also recommended that a preliminary investigation be held on the illegal possession of firearms and direct assault charges against Au “to determine who among the occupants of the vehicle had possession of the… shotgun found in the compartment of their vehicle.”

On Wednesday, Jaworski, 40, asked the city prosecutor’s office to drop the charges against him in relation to the alleged gunrunning.

In a motion to dismiss all charges, Jaworski’s lawyers Richard Nethercott and Terence John Awang argued that the sting staged by the National Capital Region Police Office’s Regional Police Intelligence Operations Unit (RPIOU) was flawed and illegal.

According to Jaworski, the entrapment was based on a tip that a certain Ryan Jaworski was allegedly offering an unlicensed M4 rifle for sale. However, he said the firearm he intended to sell was a licensed Benelli M4 Super 90 shotgun.

Jaworski also said he did not fire at the RPIOU police officers during the alleged sting. He said in his motion that he tested negative in the paraffin test conducted on him by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Sept. 21.

He also denied that a hot pursuit had taken place, as claimed by the police.

Jaworski also asked the city prosecutor’s office to order the Makati police’s investigation branch to submit to the NBI all evidence it has gathered and the RPIOU to deliver to the NBI all the guns used by its operatives in the sting.

Jaworski was charged with direct assault, attempted murder and violation of Republic Act 10591 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Act of 2013.

Police said Jaworski and his driver, Au, 50, were arrested Saturday at the Makati Medical Center, where Jaworski sought treatment after being wounded during a shootout with RPIOU police officers.