Man tagged in laundry shop killing surfaces

MANILA, Philippines - A man whose nickname was heard by one of the victims of a laundry shop robbery, in which the owner was killed and two others were stabbed, in Tondo went to the Manila Police District (MPD) headquarters yesterday to clear his name.

Richard Oja, 22, said he left for Naga City on Dec. 31, 2011 and has not returned to Metro Manila until yesterday. He was accompanied by his relatives, who all attested that he was in Naga when the Bullseye Laundry Shop owned by Kelvin Chioa was robbed before dawn on Jan. 31.

He told reporters that he was at a birthday party of a neighbor’s daughter on the night of Jan. 30. He went to his family’s home at around 11:30 p.m. and went back to his neighbor’s house at 7:30 a.m. the next day.

Oja said witnesses can prove it would be impossible for him to be in Manila, which is eight to nine hours of land travel from Naga.

He said he was surprised when his nickname, Ricky, was broadcast as one of the suspects in the killing of Chioa. He said he knows one of the suspects, identified as George Padios, who has been arrested.

Another suspect, Noel Nuylan, has also been caught. Both Padios and Nuylan work for Chioa’s mother, Luisita, at her repair shop.

Investigators said one of the laundry shop’s workers, who were bound by the suspects, heard the name “Ricky” being told to guard them.

The suspects also stabbed Chioa’s wife, Charlene, and nanny Maricel Lebrando before kidnapping the couple’s son and stealing their car. The child and the vehicle were found abandoned several kilometers away from the shop.