2 ex-cops get 40 years for rob-slay

MANILA, Philippines - Two former Manila policemen, notorious for robbing tourists in Ermita, will serve up to 40 years in prison for robbing a man of a gold bracelet and killing him three years ago.

Reggie Dominguez and Jamal Lacsaman, who held the rank of Police Officer 1, were convicted of robbery with homicide by the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 20 on Wednesday.

The court also ordered them to pay the family of their victim, Jose Anda, P189,000 in damages, with a six-percent interest accruing from the promulgation of judgment until the amount is fully paid.

Court records show Dominguez and Lacsaman – in civilian clothes and riding a motorcycle – staged the mugging while Anda was waiting for his wife, Hairo Joy, outside a pawnshop on Pedro Gil street on Jan. 25, 2013.

At gunpoint, the two policemen robbed Anda of his P25,000 gold bracelet and Dominguez shot Anda in the right thigh. He died a week later. 

Hairo Joy identified the two men and later testified against them.

Dominguez, in his defense, said he was attending his son’s birthday party at the time the crime occurred.

Dominguez, previously labeled as Manila’s most wanted policeman, was arrested in July 2014.

Formerly assigned at the Manila Police District Station 9, he was dismissed on charges of robbery with usurpation of authority.