Ex-Mexico Policeman Shot

A 53-year-old former officer in the Mexican federal police was shot and killed in the driveway of his Santa Ana apartment complex early Friday morning as he left for work, baffling police who are seeking a motive in the slaying.

Detectives are checking with officials in Mexico City to determine whether Felipe Gutierrez Nino’s 22 years of service with the federal police might have played a role in the murder.

“His family did [express] concern that he may have made some enemies while he was a federal officer,” Santa Ana Police Sgt. Raul Luna said. “He has no enemies as far we are aware of here. . . . It’s a real whodunit.”

Nino’s body was discovered by a neighbor just after 6 a.m., about the time the victim regularly left to go to his job as a janitor at a Mexican restaurant in Costa Mesa.

Nino attended a party at the apartment complex late Thursday night, and police are also looking at whether he got into any arguments there. The shooting could also have been a botched robbery, though Nino’s wallet was still in his pocket with a small amount of money.

He died of a single gunshot wound to the chest fired at close range, leading detectives to believe the shooting might have been personal in nature instead of a random act.

Family and friends quickly gathered at the home Nino shared with two of his daughters to mourn the victim, who came to Santa Ana from Mexico in October for an extended visit with his children.

The visit began on happy note, because it was the first time Nino met seven of his eight grandchildren, family members said. Luna said the family persuaded him to stay in the United States longer and found him the job at the restaurant. He has a wife and two children in Mexico, according to police.

“I thought I would never be in this situation, but now I am and it’s terrible,” said daughter Elizabeth Nino, who lived with her father in the apartment complex on Brook Street.

Elizabeth Nino, who works nights at a hospital, got off her bus Friday morning to discover police hovering over her father’s body.

“It didn’t just stop my father’s life, it stopped my brothers’ ” lives as well, she said as family members embraced nearby.

Elizabeth Nino said her father’s former job was dangerous, and that he always carried a gun in Mexico. But he didn’t have any enemies in the United States, she said.

Nino was planning to return to Mexico, where family members said he lived on a small ranch with his wife.

“He said, ‘The U.S. is a wonderful country, but I can’t live here, because your mother is waiting for me,’ ” Elizabeth Nino said.

Nino’s body was found by a neighbor who heard a car alarm and went to investigate. The car alarm was probably triggered by the gunshot, Luna said.

One neighbor, who declined to give his name, said he heard a shot, but was with his 2-month-old daughter and didn’t leave his apartment.

No other neighbors or family members reported hearing a shot, and police know of no witnesses to the crime.

Nino’s death was the first homicide in Santa Ana this year, Luna said.

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Times staff writer H.G. Reza contributed to this report.