Widow Says Violent End Was Inevitable--but Undeserved

Rosie Nunez figured that the end would be a tragic one. Her husband’s cocaine habit, a string of run-ins with the law over drugs and burglaries, frequent trips in and out of jail, and finally, the robbery of his own wife’s store just weeks ago, all seemed to trace the downward spiral of Ernest Henry Nunez.

She just never figured that the end of Nunez’s 31-year life would come so suddenly, so violently and so frighteningly near to the disbelieving eyes of their own three children, she said. Or, in her opinion, so unjustly.

Ernest Nunez, sought by authorities after reportedly tying up his wife and robbing the clothes store she managed, was shot in the back by Santa Ana police as he tried to run away Tuesday night. He was unarmed. His wife and three children watched the scene unfold from the family car nearby.

Rosie Nunez got the word early Wednesday morning from the coroner’s office: Her husband of 12 years was dead, killed by a single shotgun blast, just months after his latest stint in prison on a drug-sale conviction.

Nunez, born and raised in Orange, once tried a stint in the National Guard but on a regular basis, he faced a variety of burglary and drug-related charges and spent much of the last decade behind bars on at least five felony convictions.

“He was in trouble most of his life, hanging around with the wrong people,” said his father, Francisco Nunez, 67.

Added neighbor Louie Castillo: “There’s not much good to say about the guy. It’s sad to hear, but it was bound to happen because of his whole history.”

Wednesday afternoon, about 12 hours after Nunez’s death, his widow sat surrounded by her children at her father-in-law’s white ranch home in Orange. Sunglasses covered her red eyes, and she spoke with anger and about the inevitability of her husband’s death.

“I don’t know if there’s anyone to blame,” she said, her words coming slowly. Then, reflecting on the final moments of her husband’s life, she sat upright and said suddenly: “He didn’t have to be killed. . . . There were so many cops--they could have shot him in the leg or grabbed him or something.”

Police said the shooting is under investigation and offered no official explanation, but a police source said the shooting officer saw Nunez running with his hand in his waistband, as if reaching for a gun. Nunez vigorously disputed that account, saying her husband made no sudden or suspicious moves.

“I don’t see why they shot him,” she said.

The Nunezes’ three children, who Rosie Nunez said will soon undergo counseling to deal with their father’s death, were even more resolute in their anger toward police.

Said 10-year-old Sonya Nunez: “I hate cops and they killed my Daddy for no reason. I’ll never say hi to one ever again in my life.”

The family’s renewed problems began early this month, Rosie Nunez said, less than five months after her husband was released from prison for selling cocaine to an undercover police officer. He had served about half of a four-year sentence.

The morning of Sept. 5, Rosie Nunez said, her husband dropped her off for work at the Kids Mart clothing store in Orange that she managed, and in an apparent attempt to get drug money, demanded that she give him $40 from the store cash register.

After she refused, Rosie Nunez said, her husband became belligerent, telling her that “if I wasn’t going to give (the $40) to him, he’d take it all.” She said he tied her up in the back bathroom and emptied the cash register of what she estimated to be about $3,000. He then fled to Las Vegas, she said.

Rosie Nunez said she reported the robbery and her husband’s role in it to police, who she believed kept their house under surveillance and saw him return last weekend. “They were after Ernie,” she said.

Her husband knew the risk he faced in fleeing, she said. This last time in prison must’ve done something to him,” she said. “I remember he said he’d never go back there alive.”