PNP tracking down cars stolen by Dominguez gang

The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Tuesday said it is already trying to track down all the stolen vehicles that a carjacking group allegedly led by Roger Dominguez has so far sold to unsuspecting buyers. The move came after the PNP Highway Patrol Group (HPG) impounded a Toyota Hilux sport utility vehicle (SUV) that was being attempted to receive motor clearance in Cagayan de Oro City last week. A macro-etching exam showed that the Hilux SUV, reportedly owned by Virgilio Mangisel, was among the group of vehicles earlier stolen along the McArthur Highway in Minalin town in Pampanga. The buyer of the stolen Hilux presented to police a Deed of Absolute Sale signed by a certain Enrique Carl Lopez, which was reportedly one of the aliases of alleged carjack ring leader Roger Dominguez. Investigators further confirmed the identity of Dominguez because his photograph appeared in the photocopy of the ID card and driver's license of the person purportedly named “Enrique Carl Lopez", which the buyer showed to authorities. "Investigators are now conducting the tedious process of records verification to reconcile the database of stolen motor vehicles with car registration records transferred to new owners," said PNP HPG director Chief Supt. Leonardo Espina. The police official advised car buyers to first check with the HPG before deciding to buy previously-owned vehicles to prevent being victimized by carjacking syndicates. The carjack group, which mainly operates in central Luzon, is allegedly led by brothers Roger and Raymond Dominguez. On January 23, Raymond surrendered to authorities in Bulacan. Roger, meanwhile, was arrested in Quezon City on February 10 due to a traffic violation. The Dominguez group was blamed for the death of three people including Emerson Lozano and Venson Evangelista, car dealers who were separately killed in Central Luzon last month while giving a test drive to the suspects who posed as prospective car buyers. Lozano's Kia Carnival vehicle was found razed in Bataan several days after the discovery of his charred remains, while Evangelista's missing Toyota Land Cruiser was later discovered parked inside a Sogo Hotel in Mandaluyong City. (See: Carjacked SUV in Evangelista slay found) The police claimed that the Dominguez carjack group was already considered neutralized with the arrest of its two top leaders. (See: PNP: Carjack gang neutralized with arrest of Dominguez brothers) The Dominguez brothers and their alleged accomplices Alfred Mendiola, Ferdinand Parulan, and Jayson Miranda are all facing charges of car theft with homicide.—JV, GMA News