Hector Vichot had $1.25 in his back pocket when he was gunned down while walking to his nightshift job on Dec. 16 at Hialeah Wal-Mart. (Source:El Nuevo Herald)
HIALEAH (CBS4)- Police are looking for two men who they said are involved in the shooting death of a man who was on his way to work, and the shooting was over $1.25.
Hector Vichot had $1.25 in his back pocket when he was gunned down while walking to his nightshift job on Dec. 16 at Wal-Mart located at 5851 NW 177th St. in Hialeah
Vichot, 53, lived long enough to tell police how the two young men had come upon him along a dark stretch of road looking for a quick steal, and shot him in the back, CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald reported.
“He posed no threat to them,” said Miami-Dade Police Spokesman Alvaro Zabaleta. “They cowardly shot a man in the back as he was running away.”
Vichot’s wallet was not stolen.
According to the Herald, Vichot, who hailed from the Santiago de las Vegas neighborhood of Havana, had worked 12 years on a contracting job, laying down cable wires. But two years ago he was laid off in the wake of the recession. Losing his livelihood was tough on Vichot, his brother said, so when he found a part-time opening last year as a maintenance worker at Wal-Mart, he jumped at the opportunity.
Normally, he rides into work with a friend. But that morning, the colleague called and said he couldn’t take him. Vichot decided to walk the seven or so blocks to the 24-hour mega store.
But moments after leaving his rental efficiency around 9 p.m., two men came up to Vichot speaking English. The Cuban native struggled to understand what they were saying, the Herald reported.
Sensing he was in danger, Vichot decided to run away.
“They shot at him three times, but it only took one bullet to kill my brother,” his brother, Pedro Vichot, said.
Vichot was airlifted to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital, but later died.
Vichot has three children: son Hector Vichot, 22; daughter Yusmila, 32, both living in Cuba; and his 14-year-old son Christopher Vichot who lives in Miami.
Distraught over his brother’s death, Pedro Vichot took down his Christmas tree just days before his brother’s funeral Wednesday.
Miami-Dade Police ask anyone with information to call Crimestoppers at 305-471-TIPS (6160).
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