Ex-starlet Katrina Paula seeks dismissal of car theft case

Former starlet Katrina Paula on Monday asked Quezon City prosecutors to junk the charges filed against her in connection with her alleged involvement in the high-profile killing of car dealer Venson Evangelista last January. Accompanied by her lawyer Raymund Palad, Paula, or Angeline Samonte in real life, attended the preliminary investigation conducted by Assistant City Prosecutor Irene Resurrecion and formally sought the dismissal of her car theft with homicide case. Another suspect in the case, Alfred Mendiola, tagged Paula as an accomplice in the killing of Evangelista, whose charred body was found in Nueva Ecija on Jan. 14, a day after he accompanied a group of prospective buyers for a test drive. Other suspects in the case were Julianne Allysa Crisostomo, Rolando Talban, and a certain Joel. Also implicated are brothers Roger and Raymond Dominguez, the alleged leaders of the notorious Dominguez carnapping group operating in Central Luzon. Raymond Dominguez is said to be the boyfriend of Paula. The cases against her and the other suspects were filed by the Philippine National Police- Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG). In seeking for the dismissal of the case, Palad claimed that except for the 30-page handwritten affidavit of Mendiola, the police did not specify as to what degree his client should be held liable for Evangelista’s death. “At the most, Mendiola’s story only established the fact that Raymond Dominguez and Angeline Samonte (Katrina Paula) are just lovers. There are no specific allegations in Mendiola’s handwritten affidavit as to the particular acts committed by Angeline Samonte on Jan. 13, 2011, the date where the crime was allegedly committed by the other respondents, Dominguez," a portion of Paula’s counter-affidavit read. Palad submitted to Resurrecion a video CD showing that Paula was a guest in TV5’s “Willing Willie" show from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Jan. 13, the day Evangelista went missing. Palad said the video will substantiate his client’s claim that she was not present in the commission of the crime. Among the four respondents charged, only Paula attended the proceedings. Evangelista’s father, Arsenio, was also present. He and the CIDG will submit their reply to Paula’s counter-affidavit during the continuation of the preliminary investigation on March 28. - GMA News