In the late afternoon of May 16, Lisa Valdez was just about to step into the shower when she heard three gunshots. She looked out the window of her Milton Avenue apartment in Whittier and saw her next door neighbor, Danny Quijada, lying on the ground near the entrance to his apartment. He had been shot in the forehead, chin and stomach; blood streamed out of his mouth and ears.
While neighbors scrambled to call 911, a Whittier patrol car came down the street by chance. The officer, and later paramedics, attempted to resuscitate Quijada, but his injuries proved fatal.
Quijada, 30, had been hanging out in the home he shared with his longtime girlfriend and their four children when he went downstairs to meet someone shortly before 5:30 p.m., said Det.Chad Hoeppner of the Whittier Police Department.
Witnesses later told police two or more Latinos were waiting for Quijada in front of his building. The men were described to police as being in their early 20s and having shaved heads.
After exchanging words with Quijada, someone shot him, police said. One man then ran north and another ran south on Milton Avenue, police said. A motive for the homicide remains unclear.
Ten months earlier, Quijada had been stabbed, police said. Although an arrest was made in the case, authorities said Quijada could not positively identify the suspect and no charges were filed. But whatever his problems in the past, detectives investigating his death said they do not believe he was engaged in illegal activity that led to his death.
Friends, neighbors and family members said he was loved by many.
“Danny had a big heart. He would give you the shirt off his back. Whatever you needed, if he had it, it was yours,” Ruby Rocha, Quijada’s cousin, recounted at his memorial in Rose Hills late last month.
At his service, he was described as a man who reached out to others. In the apartment complex where he lived, Quijada was often a role model to the children.
On the steps of the apartment building where Quijada died, friends and family created a shrine of flowers, balloons and notes. “You were like a second father to me,” read one message. “We will always remember your kindness and love,” said another.
Quijada is survived by his girlfriend of 15 years and their four children—Danny Boy, Joseph, Destiny and Selah. His girlfriend, Diane, is pregnant with their fifth child and due to deliver next month. Authorities asked that her last name not be given because they believe she could be at risk.
Although he mostly worked in construction, Quijada was staying home recently to care for their children while Diane worked at a restaurant nearby.
“He was always there for the kids. He was always there for me,” she said as she sat at her kitchen table, getting ready for Quijada's burial. She looked off into the distance, tears welling up in her eyes.
When asked to recall the good times spent with him, Diane said instantly: “You know, just hanging out at home, watching movies with the kids, getting food from China Wok and pigging out. Being together.”
Outside of his family, Quijada enjoyed tending to his 1994 brown Cadillac, listening to oldies like Mary Wells and drinking Dr. Pepper.
“It was his drink,” Diane chuckled. “That’s it!”
She said their squabbles would be quickly forgotten, settled with notes to each other asking forgiveness.
After his death, Diane came across an unread note Quijada wrote to her. It was dated a year and a half ago, just after their youngest daughter Selah was born. In the letter, Quijada eerily predicts his unexpected passing and apologizes to the family for his absence.
“To my love Diane,
I am sorry for what happened. I will always love you, no matter if you can’t see me no more. I will always be by your side and the kids. I hope I am in heaven with my sister. Danny boy and Joseph, I love you. Boys take care of your mom and sisters. To my girls, take care of your mom and help her out. I love all my kids. Sorry I can’t be here no more.
Love Dad”
Anyone with information about Quijada's death is asked to call the Whittier Police Department tip line at (562) 945-8213. You can remain anonymous.
-- Sarah Ardalani
Top photo: Makeshift shrine outside Quijada's apartment in the 6300 block of Milton Avenue in Whittier where he was shot and killed May 16. Credit: Sarah Ardalani / Los Angeles Times
Bottom photo: Image of Quijada, 30, left at the outdoor shrine.
