Slain Man Was Just Out for a Walk

Jose Armando Pulido often said that his 3-year-old girl Maricruz was “my eyes, my life, my everything.”

As he waited for dinner late Wednesday, the hotel worker did what he often liked to do--he took a walk with Maricruz.

But as they stepped out of their apartment complex on the 500 block of Coronado Street near Sunset Boulevard, a man walked up to Pulido, 43, and shot him repeatedly, police said. His wife, Maria de la Paz Pulido, heard the gunfire from their second-floor apartment and rushed downstairs. By the time she reached him, he was dead.

“I never imagined I would see him like this,” his wife of six years said.

Maricruz hid between two cars, screaming.

“All she says is that ‘the police took Papi,’ ” Maria Pulido said.

The shooter is described as a man wearing dark clothing who fled on foot, said Los Angeles Police Sgt. Michael Salinaz of the Rampart station. No motive is known, police said. Three young men were taken into custody late Wednesday, but were released.

Last Friday, Pulido raised his hand and swore the oath to become an U.S. citizen. The Chihuahua, Mexico, native hoped that by becoming a citizen, he could make it easier for his wife and her two older children from a previous marriage to become citizens, Maria Pulido said.

“The ceremony was very emotional. He looked very proud, very happy,” she said.

Aside from his work at a Beverly Hills hotel, Pulido did side work, usually maintenance, his wife said.

The family lived in a blue-collar neighborhood in Echo Park. The Pulidos’ two-bedroom apartment is tidy and warm--with family portraits and decorations on walls. Their balcony is filled with flowers and potted plants.

Maria Pulido remembered the man who “made little eyes” to her six years ago in a nightclub in a --at first--vain attempt to win her over.

Even though they were in their late 30s, Pulido introduced his future wife to his family in Los Angeles when they began dating.

“He wanted to show me that his intentions were honorable,” she said.

Her husband was not the type to get into arguments, even with local gang members, she said.

“I want to know why this happened,” Maria Pulido said. “It doesn’t look like robbery, so why?”

Pulido’s family wants to send his body to Mexico, where his parents live.

Anyone with information may call Rampart homicide detectives at (213) 207-2051.