Santa Gunman Was in Bitter Divorce, Lost Job

In June, the court ordered him to pay $1,785 a month in spousal support and put him on a payment plan of $450 a month for $3,570 that was unpaid.

Bruce Jeffrey Pardo is seen in an undated photo provided Thursday, Dec. 25, 2008, by the Covina,...

Bruce Jeffrey Pardo is seen in an undated photo provided Thursday, Dec. 25, 2008, by the Covina, Calif. Police Department. Covina Police have identified the 45-year-old Prado as a "person of interest" after a man in a Santa suit opened fire at a Christmas Eve party in a suburban Los Angeles home that subsequently caught fire, leaving three people dead. (AP Photo/Covina Police Department)

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His attorney, Stanley Silver, told The Associated Press his client had trouble making the support payments after he lost his job in July, but spousal support was waived in the settlement last week. Bruce Pardo was trying to pay $10,000 to finalize the divorce proceedings, Silver said, and he never showed any anger or instability.

"All of my dealings with him were always pleasant and cheerful," said Silver, who heard from him last on Tuesday.

Friends and neighbors described Bruce Pardo as a cheerful man who seemed upbeat and doted on a big, brown Akita he owned with his former wife.

Jan Detanna, head usher at the Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Montrose, said Pardo signed up to usher during the Christmas Eve service and always volunteered as an usher at the 5:30 p.m. Sunday service — the children's Mass.

"He was very outgoing, he was very friendly. He always greeted you with a smile, he was a pretty big guy and had a firm handshake," said Detanna, who didn't know Pardo was going through a divorce. "It's a shock to everybody that knew him. You just don't know what's going on sometimes."

Pardo's neighbor, George Tataje, 39, said his dog and Pardo's Akita would play together at a park, but he didn't speak to him much. Other neighbors frequently saw him working on his lawn and walking his dog.

At his home in Montrose, Christmas lights decorated the roof and plastic nutcracker soldiers and striped candy canes were attached to a fence that edged a neatly trimmed lawn.

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Associated Press writers Daisy Nguyen, Anthony McCartney, Shaya Tayefe Mohajer, Robert Jablon and Gillian Flaccus in Los Angeles and Solvej Schou in Montrose contributed to this report.

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