$25,000 reward offered after brutal attack on street vendor

Authorities announced a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the attackers who brutally beat a South Los Angeles street vendor.

Early Sunday morning, Pedro Daniel Reyes was chopping fruit at 31st and San Pedro streets with three other street vendors when he was approached by a group of men and one woman. They demanded money, authorities said.

Reyes handed over the cash, but he was still “beaten to near death,” his stepson John Almendarez said at a Wednesday news conference.

The assailants broke Reyes jaw, cut his throat and knocked out several teeth.

“We want to pursue and demand justice,” Los Angeles City Councilman Curren Price said. “I worry about what this [attack] means for our community and the safety of local residents and our street vendors.”

Authorities passed out a sheet with photos of the suspects — six men and one woman — their heads cloaked by hoodies and their faces hidden by the night. The attackers arrived and fled in two vehicles — a black SUV and a dark-gray sedan. One of the vehicles also was used to strike one of the victims.

The 5 a.m. attack was captured on a surveillance camera at a building across the street. The footage shows four men, most wearing hoodies walking up to the three street vendors, who were setting up on the sidewalk on the north side of the road. One man keeps watch while another lookout stands across the street.

The men leave, but return followed by a silver car and a black SUV that parks in the middle of the street. A female driver and a man exit the silver car while another man steps out of the SUV.

The surveillance video shows one of the men punching a vendor. Two others start beating a second vendor. One hooded man runs over and joins two others as they hit a third vendor. That vendor then rushes into the street, but falls and lies on the ground, apparently unconscious.

Gilma Almendarez, Reyes’ stepdaughter, said the attack has shaken the family.

LAPD Capt. Michael Rimkunas said authorities have been working around the clock to find those responsible. He hopes the reward will compel a witness or somebody with information to come forward. (The reward offer must still be approved by the full City Council next Tuesday.)

Reyes immigrated to Los Angeles from Oaxaca, Mexico, two decades ago with a degree in agricultural engineering. He worked here as a roofer and hawked peanuts and coconuts to make ends meet.

“He was hoping to find a bit of prosperity in the land of opportunity,” Almendarez said. He was “a hardworking and ambitious man.”

Family members would call Reyes, with his long, dark curls, “el buki” after the Mexican singer Marco Antonio Solís. The comedian of the family, Reyes kept the family laughing, Almendarez said.

Pastor Omar Perich, of Victory Outreach Church, remembers a considerate Reyes who would save him a parking spot on the crowded streets.

On Tuesday, Reyes underwent eight hours of reconstructive facial surgery and will have his jaw wired shut for six weeks, Almendarez said.

Doctors told Reyes he has a long road to recovery, but Almendarez said his spirits are up.

His wife joked that once he’s healed, he will be onstage dancing with Solis.

Reyes’ face lit up with a smile, Almendarez said.

For more California breaking news, follow @AngelJennings. She can also be reached at angel.jennings@latimes.com.