Philadelphia

Man Accused of Robbing, Killing Limo Driver

Philadelphia Police announced the arrest of a man who allegedly shot and killed a father and part-time limo driver during a robbery in West Philadelphia Saturday night. Alonzo Dilligard was arrested Monday and charged in connection with the death of 24-year-old Mijael Rodriguez-Ramirez.

But police say Dilligard didn't act alone.

"Another suspect -- a 21-year-old male is in questioning," said Philadelphia Police Captain James Clark in a news conference Monday afternoon. "Very early on we had names of the individuals and there is video out there..."

A third man has also been identified, but is still on the loose, police said. 

Rodriguez-Ramirez and his fiancée, who was a passenger in the car, picked up three people on the 3200 block of 7th Street in North Philadelphia, police said. Cab drivers for La Primera Car Inc., where Rodriguez-Ramirez worked, told NBC10 an alert had been sent out earlier that night warning drivers not to pick up a group of three men at that location.

"They were drunk," said Ramon Rodriguez, a La Primera driver. "I couldn't understand what they were saying. So I said, 'I can't take you.'"

Rodriguez-Ramirez was new to the job however and didn't recognize the alert. They dropped one passenger off in North Philly and then took the other two to the 5400 block of Delancey Street in West Philly around 7:10 p.m.

Without warning, one of the passengers, identified by police as Dilligard, pulled out a gun and pointed it at the man's fiancée.

"Give me all of your money or I'll kill her," Dilligard said, according to police.

Rodriguez-Ramirez gave the suspect $30, which was all the money he had in his pocket, according to investigators. As the suspects jumped out of the car, Dilligard allegedly opened fire, striking Rodriguez-Ramirez in the face. He then stole a cellphone before fleeing the scene, police said.

The co-owner of La Primera Car Inc. was alerted to trouble when Rodriquez-Ramirez's phone stopped working and his GPS didn't move from the West Philly location.

Police found Rodriguez-Ramirez slumped over inside the vehicle with a gunshot wound to the back of his head. Medics pronounced him dead at 7:24 p.m.

Rodriguez-Ramirez's family told NBC10 he first worked at a catering company after he moved to the United States from the Dominican Republic. He got a second job working as a limo driver after his daughter was born and had just started working at La Primera about a week before his death.

Weeks before his murder, Rodriguez-Ramirez had posted on his Facebook page, "live life to its fullest because tomorrow is not guaranteed."

Officials with La Primera told NBC10 they will install cameras in all of their vehicles starting Tuesday to make sure their drivers are safe.

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