Filipino race car driver Enzo Pastor has given honor to the country when he became the first Filipino to receive the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) All-Star Award. The ceremony of was held in December 2013 in Charlotte, North Carolina during the Night of Champions NASCAR Gala.
However, the 32-year old was killed on 12 June 2014 after motorcycle-riding gunmen ambushed the truck he rode on in Quezon City. Paolo Salazar, his assistant, was alive to tell what happened, but was injured from the incident. Pastor was traveling to Clark, Pampanga, in preparation for the final leg of the 2014 Asian V8 Championship Series season.
The alleged mastermind and the alleged gunman in the killing have been arrested. The Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (CIDU) of Quezon City Police District identified businessman Domingo De Guzman III as the brain behind the incident, while PO2 Edgar Angel was identified as the alleged gunman.
De Guzman was arrested in Muntinlupa City on 26 August 2014. The 40-year, who police said was unaware that Angel was already in custody, was arrested after handing a PhP 50,000 cash 'bonus' to the gunman. Confiscated from him were two loaded pistols - a .45 and a 9mm Beretta - and a Toyota Corona
Angel was arrested on 23 August during a buy-bust operation in Libis, Quezon City. QCPD-CIDU chief Rodel Marcelo also said Angel admitted during a tactical interrogation that he was paid PhP 100,000 by De Guzman to kill the race car driver. The additional PhP 50,000 was supposed to have been arranged as a bonus.
What made this case interesting is that, aside from involving the country’s best race car driver, it was alleged that all this trouble was caused by an illicit love affair and lustful encounters.
Police are currently looking into love triangle as the motive behind the killing after it was revealed by unofficial sources that Enzo's wife, Dahlia Guerrero, had an affair with the De Guzman.
"Ang na-establish po natin dito ay may relasyon si Sandy at ang asawa nung namatay. Ongoing po yung imbestigasyon," (“What we’ve established is that Sandy and the wife of the victim have a relationship. The investigation is currently ongoing”) Marcelo said during a press conference.
"Denial siya (De Guzman). Hindi niya inaamin na magkakilala sila ng pulis na ito. In fact kumpareng buo ito," Marcelo added.
Dalia who was once featured in automobile website, Top Gear, as one of their Traffic Stoppers, has already taken down her Facebook page and has refused to answer her phone. She has still in her custody the couple's two young children aged 6 and 8.
Earlier, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has offered a PhP 1-million reward for the arrest of the killers of Pastor. The Justice for Enzo Pastor Movement (JFEPMovement) said Pastor was a personal friend of Duterte and that the mayor "had been following the achievements of the young race car driver ever since he won the Asian Formula Renault in 2002."
However, the 32-year old was killed on 12 June 2014 after motorcycle-riding gunmen ambushed the truck he rode on in Quezon City. Paolo Salazar, his assistant, was alive to tell what happened, but was injured from the incident. Pastor was traveling to Clark, Pampanga, in preparation for the final leg of the 2014 Asian V8 Championship Series season.
The alleged mastermind and the alleged gunman in the killing have been arrested. The Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit (CIDU) of Quezon City Police District identified businessman Domingo De Guzman III as the brain behind the incident, while PO2 Edgar Angel was identified as the alleged gunman.
De Guzman was arrested in Muntinlupa City on 26 August 2014. The 40-year, who police said was unaware that Angel was already in custody, was arrested after handing a PhP 50,000 cash 'bonus' to the gunman. Confiscated from him were two loaded pistols - a .45 and a 9mm Beretta - and a Toyota Corona
Angel was arrested on 23 August during a buy-bust operation in Libis, Quezon City. QCPD-CIDU chief Rodel Marcelo also said Angel admitted during a tactical interrogation that he was paid PhP 100,000 by De Guzman to kill the race car driver. The additional PhP 50,000 was supposed to have been arranged as a bonus.
What made this case interesting is that, aside from involving the country’s best race car driver, it was alleged that all this trouble was caused by an illicit love affair and lustful encounters.
Police are currently looking into love triangle as the motive behind the killing after it was revealed by unofficial sources that Enzo's wife, Dahlia Guerrero, had an affair with the De Guzman.
"Ang na-establish po natin dito ay may relasyon si Sandy at ang asawa nung namatay. Ongoing po yung imbestigasyon," (“What we’ve established is that Sandy and the wife of the victim have a relationship. The investigation is currently ongoing”) Marcelo said during a press conference.
"Denial siya (De Guzman). Hindi niya inaamin na magkakilala sila ng pulis na ito. In fact kumpareng buo ito," Marcelo added.
Dalia who was once featured in automobile website, Top Gear, as one of their Traffic Stoppers, has already taken down her Facebook page and has refused to answer her phone. She has still in her custody the couple's two young children aged 6 and 8.
Earlier, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has offered a PhP 1-million reward for the arrest of the killers of Pastor. The Justice for Enzo Pastor Movement (JFEPMovement) said Pastor was a personal friend of Duterte and that the mayor "had been following the achievements of the young race car driver ever since he won the Asian Formula Renault in 2002."