Revenge seen as motive for slay of witness in carjacking/murder case

BODY OF EVIDENCE. Explosive Ordnance Divison personnel inspect the Toyota Grandia-type van (TBO-299) allegedly used by Alfred Mendiola, the slain key witness in a criminal case against the leaders of the Dominguez carjacking gang, which was recovered in Baclaran, Parañaque City on Tuesday. Southern Police District head Chief Superintendent Benito Estipona says that shells from a caliber .45 pistol and packaging tape were found inside the van. The bodies of Mendiola and two others were found in Dasmariñas, Cavite province Sunday, May 6, 2012. NINO JESUS ORBETA/Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines – Revenge for putting the notorious Dominguez brothers behind bars may have prompted the cold-blooded murder of Alfred Mendiola and two other men, whose bodies were found bound and gagged in Cavite on Sunday.

In a case conference at Camp Crame on Tuesday, investigators disclosed that vengeance was being eyed as one of the primary motives for Mendiola’s killing, and it was likely the two other victims were just “collateral damage.”

Another possible motive was to silence Mendiola, formerly an accused in the death of car dealer Venson Evangelista, who turned state witness last year against the brothers Roger and Raymond Dominguez, the alleged leaders of a carjacking ring now detained on charges of car theft with homicide.

In a press briefing that followed the case conference, officials of the Philippine National Police’ Highway Patrol Group (HPG) and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) were initially tight-lipped about the motives being considered in the investigation into Mendiola’s killing, saying only it was still under investigation.

But a slide from a Powerpoint presentation, apparently used in the case conference minutes earlier, was accidentally flashed on the overhead projector during the briefing with Camp Crame reporters.

It identified three “possible motives” for Mendiola’s death: First, “vengeance for his testimony” on the Dominguez brothers case; second, “to silence him from further testifying”; and third, “the other two victims are collateral damage.”

The projection was stopped after a few seconds.

The HPG and CIDG officials said they were not discounting other angles and would process evidence as the investigation progresses.

“First we need to determine: Is this [Dominguez brothers’ case] the case that brought this on? There are pieces of evidence we gather every day. We will know,” the HPG director, Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina, told the briefing.

Mendiola and the two others, Mark Herrera and Eriberto Jumaquio, were found dead, bound and gagged in Dasmariñas City in Cavite province on Sunday morning. The three victims each had a gunshot in the head from a .45-caliber pistol.

The Dominguez brothers, alleged leaders of a car theft syndicate based in Bulacan province, are facing car theft with homicide charges for the killing of Evangelista and another car dealer, Emerson Lozano, in separate incidents in January 2011.

Pressed to reveal what they considered the most likely motive, the CIDG officer-in-charge, Senior Superintendent Federico Castro, said it was premature to draw any conclusions.

“It’s too early to determine. As the case goes on, we will determine this. We cannot jump to conclusions immediately,” he said.

Espina said Mendiola was a “very important witness” in the Dominguez brothers’ case, but noted that he had already finished giving his testimony in the trial.

Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo said he was convinced that the Dominguez syndicate was behind the summary execution of Mendiola.

“I believe that the remnants of the Dominguez car [theft] group killed Mendiola. The group’s leaders, the brothers Roger and Raymond Dominguez, have the strongest motives to do him harm because of his testimony about the Venson Evangelista murder case,” he said.

Robredo agreed with the revenge angle.

“That is possible,” he said in reply to a question on whether Mendiola might have been killed out of vengeance.

Robredo said it was also possible that his killers had intended to silence Mendiola “but there was no indication that he intended to divulge more.”