Pastor slay ‘brains’ contests arrest warrant

The alleged mastermind in the killing of international racing champ Ferdinand “Enzo” Pastor has asked the Quezon City court to lift the warrant of arrest it earlier issued against him.

Businessman Domingo “Sandy” de Guzman III, through his lawyer Dennis Manalo, filed an omnibus motion last week asking the court to reconsider its Aug. 5 order, recall the warrant for his arrest and dismiss the murder case against him for lack of probable cause.

According to De Guzman, the court erred in finding probable cause on the basis of hearsay evidence.

In his Aug. 5 omnibus order, Judge Luisito Cortez of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 85 denied De Guzman’s motion for judicial determination of probable cause and ordered his arrest.

Cortez cited the testimony of Alvin Nidua to the National Bureau of Investigation wherein Nidua said he was asked by barangay (village) captain Borbie Rivera and Insp. Efren Oco to kill Pastor.

According to Nidua, Rivera and Oco identified De Guzman as the mastermind. Nidua added that he didn’t accept the contract because he wanted to be paid more.

In his omnibus motion, De Guzman said that Nidua’s testimony was “based on pure hearsay because he did not personally hear, nor was he even present during the planning of Pastor’s killing. The purported information was merely relayed to Nidua by a certain Inspector Oco.”

Although the court said it considered other supporting documents submitted by the prosecution, De Guzman noted that it failed to specify factual and legal bases.

PO2 Edgar Angel, the alleged gunman and coaccused in the murder case, had said in an extrajudicial confession that De Guzman hired him to kill Pastor because the car racer was beating up his wife, Dalia Pastor. Angel, however, later recanted his testimony.

“In view of the foregoing, accused respectfully beseeches this honorable court to reconsider and set aside its order dated Aug. 5 in finding probable cause against accused and to recall and lift the warrant of arrest dated Aug. 5,” De Guzman’s motion said.

He also asked the court to suspend the implementation of his arrest warrant while it was deliberating on his motion.