2 cops in Carl, ‘Kulot’ slays plead not guilty

The two rookie policemen charged with the murder, torture and frameup of teenagers Carl Angelo Arnaiz and Reynaldo “Kulot” de Guzman pleaded not guilty during their arraignment on Tuesday.

Police Officers 1 Jeffrey Perez and Ricky Arquilita, former members of the Maypajo precinct of the Caloocan City police, are facing two counts of murder, two counts of torture and three counts of planting evidence in the Caloocan City Regional Trial Court Branch 122.

The charges were filed last week by the Department of Justice (DOJ) over the deaths of Arnaiz, 19, and De Guzman, 14. Their case, along with that of 17-year-old Kian Loyd delos Santos, a Grade 12 student who was killed by policemen who claimed he was a drug runner, sparked nationwide outrage over police abuses in President Duterte’s war on drugs.

In a resolution, the DOJ said Perez and Arquilita “[even made it appear] that the death of Carl Angelo was the product of a shootout in a legitimate police or hot pursuit in order to cover up the intended killings of Carl Angelo and Reynaldo.”

A forensic examination of the teenagers’ bodies indicated that they were beaten up before being killed.

The two officers also face charges of fabricating evidence—the sachets of “shabu” and marijuana and a .38-caliber pistol—purportedly found in Arnaiz’s possession, which DOJ said was meant to cover up the killing.

Although Judge Georgina Hidalgo has yet to issue a commitment order against the two policemen, their legal counsel, Dodjie Encinas, has asked that they remain in the custody of the National Capital Regional Police Office for their own safety.

Arnaiz and De Guzman were last seen together leaving their neighborhood on Aug. 17, 2017, in Cainta, Rizal.

Arnaiz’s body was found in a Caloocan morgue 10 days later while that of De Guzman was discovered floating in a creek in Gapan, Nueva Ecija, 20 days later. He had been stabbed almost 30 times.

The police then claimed that they tried to rob taxi driver Tomas Bagcal on C-3 Road, Caloocan, and that Arnaiz was killed in a shootout with Arquilita and Perez who responded to Bagcal’s call for help.

But during the preliminary investigation, Bagcal and another witness, Joe Daniels, said that Arnaiz was on his knees, pleading for his life, when he was shot by the policemen.