Finding the elements of the offense of attempted homicide "present", Iloilo second assistant prosecutor Antonio P. Chin filed an "information for attempted homicide" case against respondent Michael Escanlar, a former seaman and reported winner of the biggest lottery jackpot in the United States .
However, in a resolution of the criminal case complainant Eliseo "Pudoy" Javelosa filed against Escanlar dated October 30, 2006, Chin dismissed the illegal discharge of firearm case against Escanlar "considering that if the intent to kill which is obvious in this case, then the acts of discharging any firearm for that matter is inconsistent with the other charged offense." Chin wrote that "probable cause exists to hold respondent liable." Chin’s resolution reads: "The respondent is charged with attempted murder. Based on the evidence so far presented, there is no evidence that would justify or qualify the offense.
At most, respondent Michael Escanlar should be held liable instead for attempted homicide." It added: "The elements of the offense of attempted homicide are present. There was that intent to kill when the automatic firearm was aimed at him but the same was not consummated because of acts independent of the will of the respondent other than of his own spontaneous desistence."
The case stemmed from an incident in cockfighting on August 20, 2006 in Igbaras, Iloilo where Javelosa, a former master’s chief in the United States Navy, claimed that Escanlar aimed an automatic firearm at him when Escanlar’s cocks lost to the cocks of Javelosa.
The resolution said Escanlar went to Javelosa and, despite Javelosa’s offering of handshake as a gesture of sportsmanship, said in the dialect "may sala ka" (you were at fault), referring to the manner on how Javelosa released his fighting cock. "Eliseo offered an apology but was rejected because what the respondent did was to get inside his bag an automatic firearm of unknown caliber and in the dialect told him, "Ano gusto mo single o automatic" (What do you prefer, single or automatic), at the same time pointing the same to Eliseo, with intent to kill," read Chin’s resolution.
"At this time, two persons appeared who parried the firearm to the direction upward when it fired. Were it not for the intervention of these two persons, he would have been hit and killed." In his counter-affidavit, Escanlar admitted he was in the cockpit at the time of the incident and confirmed a verbal spat happened between him and Javelosa. But he claimed he went out of the cockpit and, while on his way out, "he heard gun fires from the cockpit area which the complainant is now maliciously imputing to him."
But Chin said "evidence presented by complainant consists of positive assertions." "The denials made and the alibis advanced by the accused cannot prevail over his positive identification by complainant," wrote Chin, citing the People vs Ocampo, 206 SCRA 234). Javelosa said he expects the court to issue a warrant of arrest against Escanlar who resides in Poblacion, Igbaras, Iloilo. /MP mailto:madyaas_pen@yahoo.com
No comments:
Post a Comment