Suspect in French tourist slay traced thru getaway car

Richard Adilan (photo from Southern Police District)

The Southern Police District (SPD) has identified a suspect in the brazen robbery and killing of French tourist Pierre Paul Franz Hofman in Pasay City earlier this month.

The SPD on Wednesday was set to file charges against Richard Adilan and three John Does, according to deputy director for operations Senior Supt. Conrado Capa.

Adilan was considered a suspect after investigators discovered that he was the last known buyer of the getaway vehicle used in the crime.

Hofman, 68, was robbed by two men on the morning of March 8 as he was waiting with two French companions for a taxi along Roxas Boulevard in front of Heritage Hotel. The three tourists were then on their way to the Victory Liner bus terminal on Edsa for a trip to Baguio City.

Hofman was shot thrice by one of the suspects when he refused to let go of his bag containing 700 euros.

The two suspects then fled on a motorbike driven by a third cohort. Police later learned from witnesses that two of the suspects got off the bike two blocks away from the crime scene and boarded a white Toyota Corolla (PPV-904).

An investigation showed that the car was registered to Richard Gamelo of General Trias, Cavite province. A check in the area revealed that Gamelo no longer lived there and that,

National Capital Region Police Office director Chief Supt. Leonardo Espina

according to his neighbors and some family members, the car had already been sold to Adilan.

National Capital Region Police Office director Chief Supt. Leonardo Espina described Adilan as a member of the Alvin Flores robbery gang who is  wanted for three robberies staged in 2011. Two of these cases are robberies with homicide, he said.

A ballistics report from the SPD showed that the .45-caliber shells recovered at the Hofman crime scene matched those found in the Robinson’s Metro East robbery in Pasig City in June last year.