NOT GUILTY BUT…

Joavan Fernandez purses his lips as he declines to answer questions about his acquittal from the direct assault charges lodged again him by Cebu City policemen. (CDN PHOTO / LITO TECSON)

Joavan Fernandez has one less burden to carry.

This time, Judge Pamela Baring-Uy of the Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) Branch 6 in Cebu City cleared the controversial son of an erstwhile Talisay City mayor of direct assault charges that stemmed from a complaint filed by police officers whose car he allegedly rammed in 2011.

Although he was cleared by Uy yesterday, Joavan, who has been languishing in jail for the last three years, will have to remain in jail, as he has been previously convicted in other cases.

Barely 24 hours earlier, Joavan was found guilty of illegal possession of an explosive and a gun that had accompanying prison sentences that totaled to about 50 years.

Last February, he was also convicted of another crime that carried a jail term of 36 years, which means that the 32-year-old son of now Talisay City Councilor Socrates “Soc” Fernandez faces up to 86 years in prison.

Yesterday, Uy ruled that the prosecution failed to present sufficient evidence to prove Joavan’s guilt.

“The court gives credence to the testimony of Fernandez (Joavan) as compared to the testimonies of Chief Insp. George Ylanan and the two other policemen who had several material inconsistencies in their testimony,” the judge said.

In a criminal case, Uy said the accused is entitled to an acquittal unless his guilt is shown beyond reasonable doubt. “The prosecution must rely on the strength of its evidence and not on the weakness of the defense,” she said.

In 2013, Uy also dismissed a separate case for malicious mischief filed against Joavan for the failure of the prosecution to present ample proof.

In both cases heard before Uy’s court, Joavan was accused of ramming his car into a police vehicle driven by Ylanan, then head of the Cebu City Police Office’s Investigation and Detection Management Branch (CCPO IDMB) during a chase in Cebu City on Feb. 6, 2011.

Ylanan and his team were supposed to serve a warrant of arrest issued by another judge in relation to a separate case of malicious mischief lodged against Joavan in Talisay City. But the policemen did not know that Joavan had already posted bail in that case.

ABUYOG PRISON

But even if his current case ended with a not guilty verdict, Joavan still has to deal with Tuesday’s ruling of Cebu Regional Trial Court Executive Judge Soliver Peras convicting him for illegal possession of a hand grenade and a gun.

Joavan was sentenced to life in prison (up to 40 years) for possession of an explosive (hand grenade) and another six to ten years for illegal gun possession and for violating the election gun ban, since he was arrested on May 6, 2013, or barely a week before the May 13, 2013 elections.

Peras had ordered Joavan’s transfer from the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center to the Leyte Regional Prison in Abuyog, Leyte to serve his prison term.

Last February, Joavan and his five co-accused were found guilty of abducting and mauling two vulcanizing shop workers he suspected of stealing the spare tire of his father’s car in 2008. They were meted up to 36 years in prison, with an appeal still pending in court.

Joavan, accompanied by his llawyer George Bragat, was tight-lipped when pressed for a statement by reporters.

WHAT WENT BEFORE

In 2011, Supt. Henry Binas, then chief of police of Talisay City, coordinated with Ylanan for the arrest of Joavan based on the arrest warrant issued by MTCC Judge Mario Manayon of Talisay City.

Joavan, who drove a Honda Civic sedan, was cornered in Sindulan Street in Barangay Mabolo, Cebu City. But he managed to escape by ramming the Mitsubishi L200 patrol car driven by Ylanan.

After Joavan rammed them a second time, Ylanan drew his .45 pistol and fired in Joavan’s direction to stop him. The shots failed to deter Joavan as he rammed the patrol car a third time pushing the vehicle to the wall on the left side of the one-way street and leaving him with enough room to escape. Joavan’s car was later found abandoned in Barangay Carreta, Cebu City.

During the trial, Uy discovered that Ylanan and his team were not carrying a warrant of arrest when they pursued Joavan. And even if the policemen were armed with an arrest warrant, Uy said they could not arrest Joavan who by then had already posted bail.

“In effect, there is not warrant of arrest to be implemented against (Joavan) Fernandez,” the judge said.

Also, Uy said Joavan did not attack Ylanan “offensively nor antagonistically,” neither did the accused use serious force to defy the law.

“As admitted by Ylanan, Joavan did not deliberately bump or hit for the sake of damaging their Mitsubishi L200 service vehicle, but for the purpose of evading his arrest or attempt to escape,” Uy said.

The judge also did not award civil damages to Ylanan who claimed that their Mitsubishi L200 service vehicle needed repairs that cost P244,627. The prosecution did not present the actual cost of the repair but only the amount and there was also no proof that Solaris Motor Repair Shop had started to repair the vehicle, she said.

“The private complainant can be compensated only of such pecuniary loss suffered as he has duly proved. For this reason, the court cannot award civil liability,” Uy said.