A St. Paul man died of injuries suffered while trying to protect his teenage daughter as he celebrated his birthday at a Maplewood bar Wednesday morning, according to police, who have taken one suspect into custody and are searching for two others.

Eduardo “Titi” Alberto Figueroa, 40, died at his home shortly after leaving Freddy’s Tiki Hut at 1820 Rice St., where his assault by two apparent strangers allegedly took place just after midnight.

“I just want them caught,” said Figueroa’s wife of more than 20 years, Maria Figueroa. “They kicked him and they didn’t stop. They just kept on going.”

As Maria Figueroa broke down in tears, people poured into the couple’s North End home for an impromptu vigil. One of their three daughters whispered, “We only had 120 candles and we’re out; we’re going to need 50 more. At least.”

Police said Figueroa refused to be taken to the hospital after the assault, telling paramedics he would go on his own. Instead he went home, where he collapsed and was pronounced dead later that morning. Figueroa had been kicked numerous times in the face and head by two men, both he and witnesses had told police.

“I didn’t see my husband (when he came home),” Maria Figueroa said. “Then, all of a sudden, I heard him. He said, ‘Come and help me, please! Come and help me.’ I’d never heard him say that, like that before.

“That’s when his body started giving out … (he) started collapsing and throwing up. Then he couldn’t talk; his mouth was too swollen.”

Police arrested Brandon Jermel Smith, 23, of St. Paul, a short time later as he sat in a car parked in St. Paul’s North End. He was arrested without incident on suspicion of homicide; Maplewood police chief Paul Schnell said witnesses identified Smith as one of the people who had assaulted Figueroa.

Maplewood police are also seeking a man and a woman believed to have been involved in the assault. Their identities were not released Wednesday.

Figueroa, who owned Hired Guns Tattoo Studio in Crystal, was celebrating his birthday Tuesday evening at the Rice Street nightspot, where he was good friends with the owner and had a “spot” at the bar.

“He was going to walk, but it was too cold,” his wife said. “So his daughter drove, went in and waited for him by the door.”

Earlier, a man had been talking loudly on his cellphone, and Figueroa and the owner had told the man to quiet down, according to Figueroa’s wife. He did.

But later that evening — with Figueroa’s 18-year-old daughter standing nearby — the man approached Figueroa, flanked by another man and a woman. One of the three asked “who the (expletive) do you think you are?”

The daughter stepped forward and was assaulted by the woman.

Police said Figueroa intervened and was knocked to the floor by the two men and kicked repeatedly. They fled as soon as Figueroa lost consciousness, though one of the bar’s musicians recorded their license plate.

Freddy’s owner John Klein called Figueroa a good friend who would “do anything for you. Real family oriented.”

As for the alleged assailants, Klein said they were not regulars.

“That was the very first time we’ve ever seen ’em,” Klein said.

Klein declined to talk about the assault, saying he was cooperating with police, though he noted the bar had “really good video” of the incident.

The Ramsey County medical examiner has yet to rule on the cause of Figueroa’s death, but Schnell said its timing gave officers “the reasonable belief the two incidents are related.”

Figueroa’s daughter drove him home and then left to be seen at the hospital for a swollen head and jaw.

She turned around when she received a frantic call from her mother and arrived about the same time as the paramedics. Despite repeated efforts, they were not able to revive Figueroa.

Figueroa was well known on Galtier Street in St. Paul’s North End; he often worked out of his garage and helped neighbors fix their cars.

“This man would do anything for anybody. My heater broke, he’s there,” said Erin Alarcon, a family friend who lives nearby — one of roughly 200 people who attended a Wednesday evening vigil at the Figueroa home.

“You could be driving by, and you could just stop. He was always working on something, and he’d give you the shirt off his back, no hesitation,” said another friend, Jesse Kealy.

“If they knew who he was, they would’ve never touched him.”

Anyone with information on the suspects should call 911 or Maplewood police at 651-767-0640, or send an anonymous text to 847411.

Tad Vezner can be reached at 651-228-5461 or follow him on Twitter @SPnoir.