Davao police intel chief, 3 others charged for slay of trader Richard King

(Updated 9:44 a.m.) A ranking police officer assigned to the Davao region and three others were charged Tuesday afternoon with murder for the June 12 killing of hotelier Richard King.

Senior Superintendent Leonardo Felonia was among four charged for the crime, RGMA's Raul Tolibas reported on dzBB radio Wednesday morning.

Felonia, who surrendered to Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte late Monday, was relieved from his post as head of the Philippine National Police's Regional Intelligence Office.

He was also ordered to report to national headquarters for investigation, the RGMA report said.

On Monday, the police officer had presented himself to Duterte for "voluntary investigation."

A report by GMA Davao's Helen Quiñanola said those also charged Tuesday afternoon included:

King reportedly owns the Crown Regency Group of Hotels.

His relatives and Mayor Duterte had offered a P1.3-million reward in exchange for information leading to the arrest of the suspected killer.

Labang was arrested Sunday, with GMA Davao reporting he confessed to the crime and sought forgiveness from King's family.

The RGMA report said Labang claimed Felonia contracted his services to gun down King.

Restrictive custody

Police Regional Office 11 spokesman Chief Inspector Jed Clamor said Felonia has orders for his restrictive custody in the PNP Intelligence Group in Manila.

"So as soon as he gets into Manila he will be taken into custody," Clamor said.

However, Clamor also said the police have no legal grounds for his arrest at this time.

"We will let the investigation run its course," he said. — Joel Locsin /LBG, GMA News