Witness tags Dominguez brods

Manila, Philippines - Standing next to each other, brothers Roger and Raymond Dominguez yesterday faced their accuser and co-suspect, who pointed to them as the masterminds of the abduction and killing of car dealer Venson Evangelista.

The brothers – alleged ringleaders of a carjacking group – appeared stoic during most of Alfred Mendiola’s three-hour testimony. Roger, the elder of the two brothers, frowned and occasionally shook his head as Mendiola, who had called him and his brother “kuya (elder brother),” said they “are the ones we consider our leaders.”

Another accused, Jayson Miranda, whom Mendiola tagged as Roger’s “right hand man,” was crying incessantly as Mendiola implicated him in the crime.

Mendiola, who surrendered to the police and claimed he was the one who posed as the buyer of the Toyota Land Cruiser that Venson was selling on the day he was abducted, came in court wearing a bulletproof vest. This was after two petrol bombs and two hand grenades were hurled into his detention cell at the Bulacan Provincial Jail last Saturday.

Mendiola, also an accused in the case, has a pending motion for him to be turned into a state witness. His testimony yesterday was his chance to prove to Quezon City Regional Trial Court Judge Luisa Padilla that he should be removed from the charge sheet.

Jail is where it starts

According to Mendiola, the brothers were the ones who planned their carjacking operations, provided the funds and gave them their “salaries” for every successful hit. He said he had posed as a buyer of four separate vehicles, including that of Venson’s.

He said he met Roger while in jail for another offense and that the brothers paid for his bail and recruited him into the group. He said it was while in jail that Roger told him about the activities of the carjack gang. Released on Oct. 18, 2010, Mendiola said his first venture was the selling of wrecked or flood-damaged vehicles.

In the first week of December, he was given a phone number of a car dealer that he was to call up for a test drive.

Plotting murder over dinner

Mendiola said he first heard of Evangelista’s Land Cruiser on the night of Jan. 12, over dinner at the brother’s apartment in San Fernando, Pampanga. He said Raymond arrived and told them of a Land Cruiser in Cubao, whose seller did not want it to be test-driven.

He said Raymond told them they also went to a gas station in Quezon City, where they met a “stout” man who was selling a Kia Carnival. He said the Kia Carnival was never mentioned again that night.

Before Evangelista was abducted, another car dealer, Emerson Lozano, went missing when he went out to meet with a client at a gas station. Lozano was then selling a Kia Carnival. He was eventually found dead with his body charred and dumped.

The following day, Mendiola was made to call Venson’s father, Arsenio, who agreed to show the vehicle to Mendiola, who gave the name “Allan Torres.” Before the meeting that afternoon, he was allegedly told by Roger not to press the matter if he was not allowed to go on a test drive.

Raymond, however, reportedly told Mendiola that if he could not do it, he would take charge. “But I will not leave without the Land Cruiser,” Mendiola quoted Raymond as saying.

It was then that another alleged member of the group, Eduardo Fernandez, said they should kill whoever would be there during the test drive. Mendiola said Fernandez was worried they would be recognized by the victim from the police’s rogues gallery if the victim survived since Fernandez himself had just been out on bail after having been wounded and arrested following a recent shootout with authorities. Fernandez is still at large.

Victim pleaded for mercy

On the afternoon of the meet up with the car dealer, he said their group had to go around the area for a few minutes before Raymond – then in a separate vehicle – told them to proceed to Evangelista house. According to Mendiola, he was instead faced by Venson and instead of his father, whom he had talked with on the phone. Initially, The younger Evangelista did not agree to a test drive but eventually gave in.

When Mendiola’s companion, “Joel,” who posed as a mechanic, poked a gun at Evangelista and declared the carjack, the victim pleaded for his life. “Have mercy on me. I have a family,” Venson said.

Fernandez then boarded the Land Cruiser and wrapped the victim’s head in packing tape and bound his hands. Mendiola said he was handed Venson’s wallet, which contained the victim’s driver’s license.

Mendiola said they then went to a safehouse in Mabalacat, Pampanga, at whose gate he allegedly saw Roger already standing and waiting for them. Roger allegedly ordered him to put two used tires and a gallon of gasoline in their other vehicle, a Mitsubishi Pajero. He was then brought to a mall in San Fernando, where he stayed for about three hours, until he received a call from Roger, telling him he would be fetched.

Over dinner back at the apartment in San Fernando, Mendiola said he overheard Roger asking Miranda, “Are you sure he’s dead? Burned? That he won’t be found?” The next morning, Miranda arrived and gave him a gift – a pair of Havaianas slippers he saw Venson wearing when he was abducted.

Mendiola said he asked Miranda about the victim and he was told that Evangelista had been shot and burned.

Panic sets in

It was on Jan. 14 when Raymond allegedly gave Mendiola P20,000 for his part in the hit and told him to discuss the balance with his brother. 

He went out to visit a lover at a provincial jail and eventually got a call, allegedly from Roger, on Jan. 17 telling him to come home since the news about the killing was in the news. Roger told him to cut his hair and dye it black, as well as lose weight so he would not be recognized.

Mendiola said he feared something bad would happen to him since Roger called him again, telling him to pack his things. He said Roger told him he would be brought to Pangasinan, where he would stay until things cooled down.

Mendiola, however, panicked when Miranda arrived at the apartment with two containers of gasoline. He said he called a person he trusted, confessed to his part in the crime, and surrendered to police.

The star witness’ testimony lasted for about three hours. Mendiola was described by both the prosecution and Arsenio as “candid,” even eliciting laughter as he described what otherwise were gory details of the killing.

At one point, when asked by a prosecutor if he could identify Evangelista, who at that time he only referred to as the “long-haired” guy, if he saw him face to face, Mendiola said: “He’s dead.”

Explaining why he felt afraid that something bad was being planned against him when he saw Miranda carrying two containers of gasoline, he said: “We’re supposed to cool down, why gasoline?”