Suspect in car trader's slay seeks review of case

MANILA, Philippines -  A man who was with Roger Dominguez during his arrest in February asked a Quezon City court yesterday to review his indictment in connection with the killing of car dealer Venson Evangelista.

Jayson Miranda filed a motion for judicial determination of probable cause before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 215, asking to be cleared of the car theft with homicide charge filed against him.

Miranda was arrested in Quezon City Feb. 10 as he was with Dominguez, who was apprehended after driving against the flow of traffic along Timog Avenue. Prior to that, Dominguez and his brother, Raymond, had been implicated in Evangelista’s killing.

Through his lawyer, Marc Terry Perez, Miranda said his arrest was “highly illegal and unconstitutional… Alighting from a vehicle alone and going inside a establishment like a bakeshop do not constitute any criminal offense.”

He said he was seen alighting from the Mitsubishi Outlander that turned out to be driven by Dominguez. Miranda said the court should issue an order suppressing the evidence, which he claimed were “illegally seized.”

These pieces of evidence include a pistol, a laptop, and Evangelista’s Toyota Land Cruiser that was found at the parking space of a hotel where Miranda and Dominguez had allegedly stayed in prior to the arrest.