Greco meted 14 years in jail for illegal drugs

CEBU, Philippines — The Regional Trial Court in Cebu City has sentenced Leodegreco ‘Greco’ Sanchez, son of the late vice governor Gregorio Sanchez Jr., to suffer a maximum of 14 years imprisonment after he was found guilty of possession of illegal drugs and drug paraphernalia.

His companion, Edward Tevez, was also found guilty of possession of drug paraphernalia and was likewise meted the penalty of six months imprisonment. RTC Branch 13 Acting Presiding Judge Mory Nueva also ordered Sanchez to pay P300,000 fine.

“All told, the pieces of evidence presented by the prosecution have satisfactorily proven the guilt of Leodegreco and Edward in these cases beyond reasonable doubt. The defense of denial and alibi are generally considered as the weakest of all the defenses and is view with disfavor for it can be easily concocted,” read the decision.

Both accused were arrested by the operatives of Regional Intelligence Division (RID)-7 on April 12, 2013. The arrest was an offshoot of the complaint filed by then PB Member Grecilda Sanchez-Zaballero after Greco allegedly stole her yacht. Zaballero is the elder sister of Greco.  

RID-7 operatives were then looking for a Nissan Sentra with Plate No. GHZ 523 which was used by the suspects. The car was found parked along Tres Borces St. in Barangay Mabolo, Cebu City.

According to the police, they have observed that people were coming in and out of the house where the vehicle was parked.

Upon investigation, the police operatives saw Sanchez and Tevez in possession of drug paraphernalia resulting in their arrest. A subsequent body search yielded a pack of shabu from Sanchez.

Sanchez denied the charges saying he and Tevez were just looking for a mechanic in Mabolo after strolling at the Mactan Channel onboard the yacht owned by his family.

He said he was surprised that policemen were running after him for allegedly stealing their yacht. Sanchez said it is impossible for him to be stealing something that they own. In fact, there was no case filed against him relative to the alleged stealing of the yacht.

The court, however, gave credence to the testimonies of the police over the denial of the accused.

“After a thorough evaluation of the evidence presented by the prosecution, the court is morally convinced that the integrity and evidentiary value of the one big pack of shabu and the drug paraphernalia that are the subject matters in these cases is duly preserved,” the court ruled. — FPL (FREEMAN)