T1B

Man in Santa suit kills at least eight at Covina party, police say

Authorities say Bruce Jeffrey Pardo, dressed in a Santa suit, opened fire at a Christmas Eve party and then set the house ablaze. He is later found dead of a gunshot wound.
By Ari B. Bloomekatz, Tami Abdollah and Joel Rubin

December 26, 2008

As he had in years past, Bruce Jeffrey Pardo volunteered to serve as an usher at his church's midnight Mass on Christmas Eve.

Pardo, however, was miles away from the Holy Redeemer Catholic Church as the religious service got underway. He had driven a rental car from his home in Montrose to the Covina home of his ex-wife's parents. Shortly before 11:30 p.m., dressed as Santa Claus, he approached the front door with a large, wrapped package.

Inside the two-story home at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac, his ex-wife, her parents and about two dozen others were enjoying their annual holiday party.

An 8-year-old girl ran to answer his knock. When the door swung open, Pardo, 45, shot her in the face with a semiautomatic handgun, stepped into the house and opened fire on the revelers. Amid the chaos, he doused the house with a flammable liquid contained in the package -- a pressurized fuel tank, about 2 1/2 feet tall.

Partygoers fled in panic as the house on Knollcrest Drive went up in flames. They ran to neighbors' homes and frantically called 911. A young woman, according to a neighbor, leaped out of a second-floor window, breaking her ankle.

The 8-year-old girl and a 16-year-old girl who was shot in the back survived and were transported to local hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries, officials said. Eight bodies remained in the ruins of the house, coroner officials later said.

It was thought to be the worst single killing spree in the county this year. Overall, homicides have remained at relatively low levels compared to previous years.

The investigation, which began quickly and continued into Christmas Day, led to two other Southern California homes: Pardo's and his brother's, where Pardo was found dead. It revealed a divorce, the flammable device like the one Pardo took into the Covina home -- police said they'd never seen anything like it -- and incredulous reactions from people who knew Pardo as a reliable church usher and good, but quiet, neighbor. By late Thursday night, authorities weren't even close to identifying all the victims, although his former wife and her parents are thought to have been killed.

In Covina, police kept firefighters at bay as flames engulfed the house, believing the gunman might still be in the area. About 80 firefighters battled the blaze for an hour and a half before extinguishing it, said Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Mike Brown. The second floor of the house fell to the ground. Palm trees swayed eerily in the smoke.

Pardo had left the scene quickly, driving to his brother's house about 40 miles away in Sylmar. Shortly before 3:30 a.m., the brother summoned Los Angeles police, saying he had come home to find Pardo dead with a gunshot wound to the head. When arriving officers ran Pardo's name through a law-enforcement database, they were alerted that he was wanted by Covina police.

By 9 a.m., a pair of Covina detectives had arrived at Pardo's tan stucco house in Montrose and cordoned it off with tape. A wreath was hung on the front door and candy canes adorned the fence.

An SUV and a military-style Hummer were parked in the driveway.

In midafternoon, authorities approached the house with guns drawn, shouting, "We're police! We have a search warrant!" When no one responded, they used a battering ram to get in. More than two hours later, officers carried away four shotguns, a handgun, wrapping paper and a fuel tank like the one Pardo used in the attack.

A label on the red tank read, "WeFuelFun.com," the website of a company that specializes in fueling devices for all-terrain vehicles. Buchanan, a 30-year police veteran, said the tank Pardo used in the attack was "nothing that we or the arson team had ever seen."

Recently, Pardo had been living in the Montrose home alone, said Det. Antonio Zavala. Court records show that his wife divorced him last September. He "was apparently going through a bad time in his marriage," Covina Police Lt. Pat Buchanan said.

Neighbors said that Pardo had lived in the house with his wife, Sylvia, 43, and her three children for a few years, until she and the children moved out last spring.

The family was often seen walking their dog in the neighborhood.

Pardo, several neighbors said, was a quiet, unassuming man who enjoyed tending his garden and regularly ushered at the evening Sunday Mass at Holy Redeemer.

"Bruce?" said an incredulous Jan Detanna, the head usher at the church, when told about the attack by a reporter on the phone. "I'm just -- this is shocking. He was the nicest guy you could imagine. Always a pleasure to talk to, always a big smile."

Bong Garcia, Pardo's next-door neighbor, said he last saw Pardo between 9 and 10 p.m. Christmas Eve. Pardo, who was dressed in regular clothes, said he was on his way to a party.

Pardo's former wife and her parents, Joseph Ortega, 80, and Alicia Ortega, 70, are believed to be among the dead. Authorities said Thursday afternoon that the bodies found in the house were so badly burned that dental records would be needed to identify them.

The Ortegas lived in a bucolic neighborhood -- their street lined with large homes with swimming pools, valued upward of half a million dollars.

Tom Minter, 78, who lives a few doors down from the Ortegas' house, was washing dishes when he heard a loud bang. Soon after, police SWAT officers rushed a man and two women who had been at the party into his home, sat them down in the hallway and turned off all lights in the house, Minter said. Both women were crying and the man was talking into his cellphone, saying 'They're all dead, he shot them all,' " Minter recalled.

Gazing at the scene of destruction on Christmas morning, Frank Castillo, 46, stood at the yellow police tape barrier trying unsuccessfully to obtain information about relatives he said had been at the party.

"I want to make sure [they] are OK," he said, choking back tears.

The bizarre case continued to unfold into the night. Bright lights brought in by police illuminated the crime scene in Covina. In searching the rental car in Sylmar, the L.A. County sheriff's bomb squad found a suspicious object.

As they attempted to render the object safe, the car erupted in flames, said Los Angeles Police Sgt. James Bender. Later, police evacuated houses close to Pardo's in Montrose, concerned that he might have left behind bombs.

Ken wrote:How many in here have shaken a murderer's hand? Who can say that? Not that I'm proud of it, but I can now say I've done it. I've shaken that motherfucker's hand twice before.

Nishlord wrote:

Ken wrote:How many in here have shaken a murderer's hand? Who can say that? Not that I'm proud of it, but I can now say I've done it. I've shaken that motherfucker's hand twice before.

That's grim, Ken.

Ken wrote:How many in here have shaken a murderer's hand? Who can say that?

mvscal wrote:Sick and stupid evidently. At least he died screaming.

[Authorities say Pardo's Santa suit actually melted onto his body before he fled.

Ken wrote: Needless to say, this m-fer was royally screwed in the head. Regrettably, Sylvia did not become aware of hi 'past' until after marriage... hence the divorce. His 'past' didn't begin or end w/him disowing a son who he neglected to the point that he almost died in a swimming pool accident and to this day is severely brain damaged. Embezzlement too. Slime of the highest order.

Ken wrote:How many in here have shaken a murderer's hand? Who can say that?

Moving Sale wrote:Between representing regular parolees and MDOs (Mentally Disorderd Offenders) I have met and talked to approx 40-50 Killers, half of whom had a murder rap. I have also done over 100 Lifer hearings with about 75% of those guys being locked up for some kind of homicide, so I have met (not sure how many of them shook my hand) well over 100 Killers.

Mace wrote:

Ken wrote:How many in here have shaken a murderer's hand? Who can say that? Not that I'm proud of it, but I can now say I've done it. I've shaken that motherfucker's hand twice before.

I can think of 5 right off the top of my head, but there are probably a few more. It kinda goes with the territory.

Mace
Probation/Parole Officer

Mace wrote: Murderers receive a life sentence in Iowa with no parole.

Kierland wrote:You don't even know the law in your own state? How dumb are you?

Jay in Phoenix wrote:If you're going to make a statement like you did, you gutless little fella', you might want to back it up with a link.

Jay in Phoenix wrote:Specifics Kierland. Where in that link is the death penalty law?

Kierland wrote:

Jay in Phoenix wrote:Specifics Kierland. Where in that link is the death penalty law?

Hey dumbass. There is no death penalty. Who said there was? He said you get life. The link does not back that you. How dumb are YOU?

Jay in Phoenix wrote: So dumbfuck, which part of the statement Mace wrote is in error?

Jay in Phoenix wrote:There is no obvious heading for LWOP on that link. Just do a cut and paste and spell it out for us.

Jay in Phoenix wrote: We are talking about 1st degree here, the case to which Mace was addressing.

However, 50 years without parole for most people is a "life" sentence.

Kierland wrote:Cuda:Murderers can get probation?
Mace: Only if the charge has been reduced to manslaughter. Murderers receive a life sentence in Iowa with no parole.
My link: Murderers can get LESS THAN 50 years.

Jay in Phoenix wrote:Spin spin spin little top.

The subject we are talking about is MURDER.

And not shaking hands.

An individual who commits MURDER in the 1st degree gets life without parole.

Once again dumbfuck, 1st degree, not 2nd, as per your link.

Read your own words idiot, or do you not understand the difference between manslaughter and murder? Or the 1st or 2nd degree?

Try again dumbfuck.

Sudden Sam wrote:

Dinsdale wrote:

Ken wrote:How many in here have shaken a murderer's hand? Who can say that?

I can say that I've shaken at least 4 that I know of... which doesn't speak well of me, but 3 were neighborhood kids gone bad.

Living where you do, you could hardly avoid shaking hands with a least a dozen serial killers daily!

Dinsdale wrote:So parents -- if your child keeps shoving marbles up his nose, based on personal observation, you might wanna get them into some sort of therapy.

Terry in Crapchester wrote:

Ken wrote:How many in here have shaken a murderer's hand? Who can say that?

Twice . . . sort of.

One was in my eighth grade class. A decade or so later, he committed a murder.

The other: an assigned client who was on parole for Criminal Facilitation, 1st Degree. The name of the charge doesn't quite do justice in this case. What he had done: he got a 15-year-old to commit murder.

To me, he came across as a complete sociopath. The closest I've ever come to Evil Incarnate in my entire life, 'cept maybe for mvscal. I was representing him on a Criminal Mischief charge, as well as a resultant Parole Violation. It was alleged that he had slashed "a pedophile's" (his characterization, not mine) tires. He actually had the stupidity/lack of conscience to suggest that his record would actually help him in that case, since he had a record of violence toward people, but not violence toward property.

He and I didn't quite see eye-to-eye, so I got off his case in relatively short order, fortunately.

Jay in Phoenix wrote:

Dinsdale wrote:So parents -- if your child keeps shoving marbles up his nose, based on personal observation, you might wanna get them into some sort of therapy.

Well damn, that explains Kierland now. Thanks Dins.