US court finds probable cause vs Nora Aunor on drug charges

WASHINGTON — Movie star Nora Aunor will go on trial for felony drug possession charges after a Los Angeles court found probable cause that she may have been carrying methamphetamine when she was arrested nearly four months ago.

Aunor, Nora Cabaltera Villamayor in real life, was held over for arraignment and trial when a judge at a preliminary hearing in Los Angeles on Monday ruled that there was probable cause to proceed with the case.

Aunor was arrested March 30 when airport screeners stopped her on her way to Oakland.

The 53-year-old popular film and music star looked poised and composed when Judge Paula Adele Maybrey set her arraignment in Superior Court on Aug. 8 where she is expected to enter a not guilty plea. She is free on $10,000 bail.

Outside court, Aunor told reporters: "It’s very difficult... What is the word? ... Trauma."

Her lawyer, Claire Espina, said she would raise the matter of police testimony during the hearing that appeared to indicate Aunor was not read her rights before her interrogation.

"In the evidence that was presented today we found two significant things — she was interrogated (by police) without the benefit of a Miranda warning and she requested a Tagalog interpreter and was not provided with one," Espina told The STAR in a telephone interview.

Espina said the police lapses in questioning Aunor could render whatever statements her client may have made inadmissible in court.

Aunor, known as "The Superstar" to her fans, has been charged with having 7.7 grams of methamphetamine and a glass pipe in her carry-on bag when was arrested at the Los Angeles International Airport on her way back to her San Francisco bay area home after a business trip. She has denied the charges.

Espina said the judge’s ruling was not unexpected because at a preliminary hearing all the prosecution had to do was to present some evidence that a crime had been committed, and evidence that the defendant committed the crime.

There is no standard of proof "beyond a reasonable doubt," she said.

Asked if she was optimistic about winning the case for her client, Espina said "it’s a defensible case and it’s proceeding on the lines of how we expected it to proceed."

Espina contends Aunor only has a sixth grade education and it was important for her to have a Tagalog interpreter present to make sure she understood any legal proceedings.

She indicated she would file a motion to suppress statements Aunor may have made after her belongings were searched by airport police who also allegedly questioned her in violation of her constitutional rights because they did not read her the Miranda doctrine.

Any questioning of a suspect can only begin once police recite the Miranda warning: "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney, and to have an attorney present during any questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be provided for you at government expense."

Aunor has appeared in more than 170 films and recorded more than two dozen albums, including scores of hit singles. On screen, she has starred with the leading men of her time, including Joseph Estrada, who later became the country’s president but was ousted in a people’s uprising amid corruption charges.

Although she retains her Philippine citizenship, Aunor has spent much of her time in recent years at her home in Linda Vista, several kilometers north of San Diego.

A drug conviction, however, could endanger her visa status as well as her ability to work abroad. — With AP