UNDERSTANDING THE RIOTS PART 1 : THE PATH TO FURY : The Vantage Points : Through these L.A. County residents' eyes, this section tells the region's story, from the 1940s until today

L.A. Times Archives

May 11, 1992 12 AM PT

Name: Dr. Louis Simpson

Age: 45

Occupation: Psychiatrist

Residence: Venice

Biographical note: For nearly two decades, Simpson has seen the casualties of South Los Angeles firsthand at the Augustus Hawkins Mental Health Center in Watts.

Name: William Hong

Age: 34

Occupation: Merchant

Residence: Simi Valley

Biographical note: A Korean native, Hong owns a liquor store in a South Los Angeles mini-mall. Though the business was looted, Hong plans to reopen soon.

Names: Leslie and Steve Frank

Age: Steve is 45, Leslie is 43

Occupation: Steve is a public affairs consultant. Leslie is principal of Simi Valley Elementary School

Residence: Simi Valley

Biographical note: In 1988, the Franks moved with their two children to Simi Valley from the San Fernando Valley, in search of a better quality of life. They have 12-year-old twin daughters.

Name: Laura Price

Age: 47

Occupation: Part-time home care worker

Residence: South Los Angeles

Biographical note: Price, the mother of four, has lived in Los Angeles since 1965. She is trying to obtain a teaching credential so she can instruct African-American children.

Name: Onamia M. Bryant

Age: 57

Occupation: Schoolteacher

Residence: South Los Angeles

Biographical note: Bryant has taught in the Los Angeles Unified School District since 1969. The mother of four children, she began her career at 102nd Street School in Watts and now teaches at Elysian Heights Elementary School.

Name: Basiliso Merino

Age: 42

Occupation: Roofer

Residence: South Los Angeles

Biographical note: An accountant in Mexico, Merino came to the United States in 1990 to take a higher-paying job as a roofer. Frightened by the riots, he plans to return soon to Mexico.

Name: Fred Williams

Age: 33

Occupation: Founder of the Common Ground Foundation, which runs stay-in-school programs

Residence: South Los Angeles

Biographical note: A former street gang member, Williams worked as a teacher’s assistant in Watts before establishing his foundation, which is underwritten by a clothing designer.

Name: Thomas Souza

Age: 50

Occupation: Officer, Los Angeles Police Department

Residence: Chatsworth

Biographical note: A 26-year veteran of the LAPD, the Boston-bred Souza works in the community relations office at Valley Traffic Division.

Names: Nancy Silverton and Mark Peel

Age: Both 37

Occupation: Restaurateurs

Residence: La Brea-Wilshire area

Biographical note: Peel and Silverton are the husband-and-wife owners of Campanile, an upscale, Mediterranean-influenced eatery on La Brea Avenue. Committed urbanites, the couple watched as a store across the street from their restaurant and home was looted.

Name: Nettie Lewis

Age: 57

Occupation: Social worker

Residence: South Los Angeles

Biographical note: Born in Hope, Ark., Lewis came to Los Angeles in 1955. Caught in the middle of both the Watts riots and the latest destruction, she intends to stay in the community to help it rebuild.

Name: Jake Flukers

Age: 46

Occupation: Union representative for United Auto Workers Local 645

Residence: Pacoima

Biographical note: Flukers has worked at the General Motors plant in Van Nuys for the last 15 years. This summer, he and more than 2,000 others will lose their jobs when the long-threatened plant’s operations are finally moved to Canada.

Name: Art Washington

Age: 53

Occupation: Businessman

Residence: Mid-City Los Angeles

Biographical note: Raised in Chicago, Washington moved to Los Angeles in 1965. He is married with one child and owns a pest extermination business.

Name: Richard Breen

Age: 45

Occupation: Businessman

Residence: Laurel Canyon

Biographical note: A New York native, Breen established a trucking company in a South Los Angeles junkyard that is now a $40-million business. As the disturbances spread, he armed employees to hold off rioters.

Name: Kerman Maddox

Age: 37

Occupation: Public affairs consultant

Residence: South-Central Los Angeles

Biographical note: A political activist and member of the First A.M.E. Church, Maddox hosted nightly call-in programs on black-owned radio station KGFJ during the height of the rioting.

Name: Tim Howell Jr.

Age: 21

Occupation: UCLA student

Residence: Southwest Los Angeles

Biographical note: Raised in a large, religious family, Howell is a sociology major who hopes to become a doctor.

The Others . . . Names: Marcus and Cletus

Age: Both 24

Occupation: Security guards

Residence: South-Central Los Angeles

Biographical note: Marcus comes from a middle-class family. Cletus stayed a step ahead of poverty in a tough neighborhood in Compton. Together, they looted three stores and burned one to the ground.

Name: Leticia

Age: 27

Occupation: Unemployed

Residence: South-Central Los Angeles

Biographical note: An illegal immigrant from Mexico City, Leticia arrived in the United States four years ago. She last worked in a medical laboratory.

Name: Myung Lee

Age: 49

Occupation: Merchant

Residence: North Hollywood

Biographical note: Lee owns a doughnut shop in South Los Angeles. It was looted in the rioting.

Following Their Stories

Here are some of the locations that figure in the recollections of the people in this special report.

1. J.C. Pest Control

2. Mini-mall housing the no-name doughnut shop and Liquor Market

3. Campanile

4. Nickerson Gardens housing project

5. 77th Street Police Station