ANGELES CITY- City police director Senior Supt. Pierre Bucsit said here yesterday his cops are closing in on suspects in a series of killings whose victims included foreigners and the half-brother of Black Eyed Peas band celebrity Allan Pineda or Apl.de.ap.
“We have identified two suspects in the killing of Pineda’s brother Joven Deala and they belong to a gun-for-hire group,” Bucsit told Punto.
Bucsit said he will be ready to announce the identities of the suspects soon, as he noted “a pattern” in recent killings that also included Barangay Pulung Maragul chief Edilberto Cayanan whose suspected killer, earlier identified as Harrison de Leon, was also known to be a member of a gun-for-hire group.
Deala was shot dead in his sports utility vehicle at dawn last Feb. 3 in Barangay Ninoy Aquino here.
“We have some evidences to substantiate our claim that the two gun-for-hire suspects were the culprits in the Deala case, but we are gathering more evidences that can build an airtight case against them and hopefully also lead us to the mastermind,” he said.
Bucsit also said that his men are tracking down a man known in the criminal world as “Manok” who, he noted, has been notorious for hold-up cases and is suspected in at least one homicide case.
Only last month, American tourist Jerry Melton, 51, was shot dead by still unidentified suspects in Barangay Malabanias here. Melton arrived in the country two days earlier.
Melton was the second foreigner to be killed in this city and the fifth to be murdered since last December. Last January, a German tourist was also found dead in his apartment in Barangay Plaridel I here.
Late last year, an Australian investor at Clark freeport was also shot dead while driving home in this city. Two members of a gun-for-hire syndicate were also implicated. The suspects, however, have remained at large and the mastermind has yet to be identified.
Bucsit admitted that the crimes have not yet been solved amid lack of any witness, but added that he will make soon some announcements on progress on the investigations of some of the recent killings.
“We have identified two suspects in the killing of Pineda’s brother Joven Deala and they belong to a gun-for-hire group,” Bucsit told Punto.
Bucsit said he will be ready to announce the identities of the suspects soon, as he noted “a pattern” in recent killings that also included Barangay Pulung Maragul chief Edilberto Cayanan whose suspected killer, earlier identified as Harrison de Leon, was also known to be a member of a gun-for-hire group.
Deala was shot dead in his sports utility vehicle at dawn last Feb. 3 in Barangay Ninoy Aquino here.
“We have some evidences to substantiate our claim that the two gun-for-hire suspects were the culprits in the Deala case, but we are gathering more evidences that can build an airtight case against them and hopefully also lead us to the mastermind,” he said.
Bucsit also said that his men are tracking down a man known in the criminal world as “Manok” who, he noted, has been notorious for hold-up cases and is suspected in at least one homicide case.
Only last month, American tourist Jerry Melton, 51, was shot dead by still unidentified suspects in Barangay Malabanias here. Melton arrived in the country two days earlier.
Melton was the second foreigner to be killed in this city and the fifth to be murdered since last December. Last January, a German tourist was also found dead in his apartment in Barangay Plaridel I here.
Late last year, an Australian investor at Clark freeport was also shot dead while driving home in this city. Two members of a gun-for-hire syndicate were also implicated. The suspects, however, have remained at large and the mastermind has yet to be identified.
Bucsit admitted that the crimes have not yet been solved amid lack of any witness, but added that he will make soon some announcements on progress on the investigations of some of the recent killings.
