3 carjackers get life terms for Venson slay

MANILA, Philippines — After 12 years, a Quezon City court convicted yesterday three members of a carjacking group for the murder of car dealer Venson Evangelista, whose charred remains were dumped in Nueva Ecija in 2011.

Roger Dominguez, Jason Miranda and Rolando Talban were sentenced to life in prison without eligibility for parole.

Judge Rafael Hipolito of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 215 found the three guilty of car theft with homicide.

According to police, Evangelista was shot before his remains were burned.

Evangelista’s father, Arsenio, said he initially failed to identify Venson’s charred body, with the head wrapped in packing tape and hands tied, on Jan. 14, 2011 in Cabanatuan City.

Arsenio lauded the guilty verdict issued by the court, saying he did not waiver in seeking justice for Venson after more than a decade since the gruesome killing.

“We are finally getting the justice we truly deserve. At the end of the day, is it worth fighting it out after 12 years? Yes. It is a long process, but we still obtained justice,” the elder Evangelista said in a phone interview.

He noted that the case became strong after one of the defendants, Alfred Mendiola, turned witness.

Mendiola was found dead in Cavite in 2012.

Convicted carjacker Raymond Dominguez, who masterminded the crime, died in his cell at the New Bilibid Prison in February 2021.

The alleged gunman, Joel Jacinto, also died in detention while the case was being heard.

Mendiola had surrendered to police and said he posed as the buyer of Venson’s Toyota Land Cruiser before the victim disappeared in Cubao, Quezon City.

Arsenio, who heads the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, said the conviction sends a strong message to organized crime groups that they cannot run from the law.