Slain Owner of Record Store Is Eulogized

More than 400 people gathered Friday afternoon to mourn the death of Peidad Preciado, who was gunned down in the small, family-owned record store that she and her husband had painstakingly built from scratch.

In a funeral service at Saint Matthew American Catholic Church, family and friends eulogized Preciado as a compassionate and determined woman, who persevered through hardships to make a better life for her family and community.

“She started out from the bottom,” said Preciado’s 23-year-old daughter Cindy Preciado, who dropped her mother off at the Santa Ana store moments before the slaying. “But she kept building and building her businesses.”

“She was a very caring, very generous person. Everyone admired her for her strength. Not everyone had that kind of strength,” she added.

Police have made no arrests in the killing of Preciado, who was shot in the face at point-blank range about 10 a.m. March 5 while opening her Spanish-language music store, “Discoteca Guadalajara.”

Although police originally believed the attack was part of a botched robbery attempt, relatives said no money was stolen from the business--one of three music and video stores the Preciado family owned in Santa Ana.

On the morning of the shooting, two men armed with handguns confronted and shot Preciado as she cleaned the store’s glass display case, according to police. Conscious long enough to stagger outside, Preciado collapsed on the sidewalk, according to eyewitnesses. She was later pronounced dead at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach.

The suspects fled in a late 1960s or early 1970s model car described as a beige, two-door compact hatchback with zebra-patterned seat covers, say police.

Friday afternoon, tearful mourners attending burial services at the Holy Sepulcher Cemetery in Orange struggled to understand the tragic killing.

“That’s the most perplexing thing to everyone here,” said Helenee Cruz, a longtime family friend. “No one can fathom who would want to kill her.”

“I would understand if she were involved in something illegal,” added Cindy Preciado. “But the violent way she died . . . it just makes no sense.”

Peidad Preciado left Jalisco, Mexico, about 30 years ago, and started a family with her husband Ruben in Santa Ana. In addition to managing the family business, Peidad Preciado was active in church activities that included helping to feed the poor and sending much-needed medical supplies to Guadalajara.

“She was a giving person. She never would turn anyone away,” Cruz said. “She was the kind of person you didn’t need to ask her for something, she would already know and give it to you.”

Peidad is survived by her husband Ruben, their three adult children, Cindy, Brenda, and Roland; her mother Marie Uribe, and father Elias Michel. She also leaves behind three brothers and one sister, and three grandchildren.

Family members say they will soon be offering a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of her assailants. Anyone wishing to contribute to the reward fund can call (714) 490-3749.