Three men were meted life terms yesterday after being found guilty beyond reasonable doubt of violating the provisions of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

Regional Trial Court Branch 30 presiding judge, Crescencio Tan Jr., found Antonio Chan, John Philip Kirit, and Michael Tanamor guilty, and fined them 500,000 each. He also ordered them to be shipped to the national penitentiary in Muntinlupa to serve their prison terms.

Chan and Kirit were arrested with 0.27 gram of shabu in a buy-bust operation in Barangay Tinago, Dumaguete City, by Provincial Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Group on October 30, 2013. Tanamor was nabbed, also during a buy-bust, on February 25, 2014, at Poblacion 1, Dumaguete, with 0.61 gram of shabu.

Meanwhile, Tan acquitted Jennifer Mendoza, alias Jenny, who was arrested November 15, 2013, near a bank at Robinsons mall in Dumaguete, reportedly with 237 grams of suspected shabu.

He said the prosecution failed to establish the substance allegedly confiscated from Mendoza due to an unjustified gap in the chain of custody, thus militating against a finding of guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

“It must be emphasized that in criminal prosecutions involving illegal drugs, the presentation of the drugs which constitute the corpus delicti of the crime calls for the necessity of proving with moral certainty that they are the same seized items,” the decision said.

Meanwhile, a suspected drug personality was gunned down in front of his live-in partner, who sustained minor gunshot wounds, near their house at EJ Blanco Road, Piapi, in Dumaguete Thursday night.

Spencer Tanamor, 38, alias Patin, sustained a gunshot wound in his chest, four at the back, and three in his left arm. He was declared dead on arrival at the Silliman University Medical Center Foundation Inc. His live in partner, Nhea Diana Bellrose Catan 26, was gunshot wounded in her ankle and right foot.

Recovered from the crime scene were seven empty shells of a .45 caliber pistol, four fired slugs, and a gold and silver necklace of the victim.

Initial police investigations showed that, at around 9:50 p.m. Thursday, two motorcycles with backriders stopped in front of the victims, who were sitting in front of their house, and shot them several times and fled.

Dumaguete City police chief, Supt. James Goforth, said Tanamor is in their drugs' watchlist. Catan told investigators that two days before the incident, Tanamor was approached by two of his friends to collect something. When asked about that “something”, she said the police already knew what she meant*JG

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