The suspect of the killing of a Briton in Minglanilla on June 24 pleaded not guilty to murder charges during the arraignment yesterday before the sala of Judge Geraldine Faith Econg.
Jude Dayota of barangay Inayawan, Cebu City who was earlier accused of shooting to death Luke Isaacs, 42, in barangay Lipata, Minglanilla town has entered a not guilty plea.
Dayota’s lawyer Glenn Tabon was supposed to file a motion to quash on grounds that the arrest of Dayota was illegal, saying it was a warrantless arrest.
But the motion was later withdrawn after Econg advised the defendant’s lawyer that it would only prolong the case if they would have to do that; to which, the defendants had agreed.
Econg said that Dayota’s right however in questioning the legality of his arrest is not waived. The defendant’s lawyer said that they will continue with the questioning of the legality as the accused was arrested inside his house without a warrant.
Dayota was with two men who were said to be his accomplice. The two men, although still at large and unidentified, were included in the complaint.
Three witnesses pointed to Dayota as having immediately clambered onboard a waiting motorcycle with two other men after shooting Isaacs.
The police said that his wife, Riza, reported that while she and her husband were walking along the national road in barangay Lipata, three men onboard a motorcycle tried to grab her husband’s bag.She told them that one of them shot her husband when he resisted.
However, the Minglanilla Police said they believe that Riza connived with Dayota in killing her husband.
Dayota was a former live-in partner of Riza. They have two children who are under the care of Riza and Isaacs.
In the affidavits of Senior Insp. Romeo Santander, Minglanilla police chief, and investigating officer Ernesto Navales, they doubted Riza’s innocence when she refused to let them view the messages and call records on the mobile phone of her husband.
The police questioned Riza’s claim that the assailants were robbers who tried to grab Isaac’s bag which contained P7,000 cash. She told the police that the robbers failed to run away with the bag.
One of the witnesses, Crisanto Arante, said he was onboard a multicab when he saw Dayota shot a black foreigner.
The other witnesses, Christian Adlawan and Elgie Quirante, said they saw a man about 25 to 30 years old, 5’5” to 5’6” tall, wearing a black sweatshirt, clambering onboard a waiting motorcycle ridden by two other men.
The man was later identified as Dayota.
The police also questioned why the witnesses were able to fully describe Dayota while Riza, who was supposed to be near the accused, failed to identify him, considering their relationship.
Police investigation also showed that Dayota was hired by Isaacs to be Riza’s personal driver. — Jasmin R. Uy/MEEV